Poetry for Children: Guinea Pig Town and Other Animal Poems

Peta Jinnath Andersen is an Online Consultant for Walker Books Australia. Her absolute, forever-and-ever favourite children's books areGuess How Much I Love You, A Bit Lost, Howl's Moving Castle, A Wrinkle in Time, A Monster Calls, and Winnie-the-Pooh.

When we think of poetry, we rarely think of children. It’s usually Keats and Wordsworth, or Henry Lawson, or Seamus Heaney and Billy Collins, or dozens of other wonderful wordsmiths who come to mind. And much as I love them, and share them with my son (it is never, ever too early to share the rhythms of language), reading adult poetry aloud is vastly different to reading poetry intended for children.

Poetry, whether it be for children or adults, has value—especially when read aloud. The differences are usually about pitch, tone, and subject: poetry written specifically for children relates in some way to their experience, in a way that which is written for adults cannot. Moving house, being out bush, animals (movement, sounds, behaviours), play…there are dozens of things and ideas kids can relate to, recite, and share.

Love the idea of reading poetry with your kids, but stuck for where to get started? Look for illustrated works, like one of our favourites, Lorraine Marwood’s Guinea Pig Town and Other Animal Poems. The illustrations help younger children verbalise and discuss the words. And don’t be afraid to play! Ask questions, make silly noises, appreciate language! The marvellous thing about poetry is that there is no wrong way to read it—it can be happy or sad or hilarious. You can experiment and have fun and talk about it in a way that’s not possible with straight up prose. And when paired with illustrations, like the wombat shown here, words become something almost tangible and exciting.

Lorraine Marwood was born and raised in rural Victoria and has lived for most of her married life on a dairy farm with her husband and their six children. Lorraine is an award-winning poet who has been widely published in literary magazines across Australia, as well as magazines in the UK, USA, New Zealand and Canada. Read more of her poetry in A Ute Picnic and Other Australian Poems, Ratwhiskers and Me and Star Jumps, which was short listed for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards 2010, Lower Primary Category; received a Notable mention in the Children s Book Council of Australia Awards, 2010; and won the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, Children’s Fiction, 2010.

Tell us about the poems you read with your children in the comments!

Caption Contest: Oh Baby! The A to Z

In need of a little cuteness for the afternoon? Feast your eyes upon these pages from our absolutely adorable Oh Baby! The A to Z.  Leave a comment with your caption for these gorgeous animals, and you'll be entered to win a copy of Oh Baby! in hardback or board book.

Learn more about Oh Baby! The A to Z here, and don't forget to leave your caption entry in the comments below.

A Day in the Life of Author-Illustrator Jedda Robaard

Author-illustrator Jedda Robaard walks us through her day. Learn more about Jedda's marvellous Tom and Tilly here.

Spotlight: James Foley On What You Should Never Feed A Lion

Western Australian author/illustrator James Foley is always on the go, presenting at schools and libraries and running fun workshops at bookshops in WA. Here's a sneak peek inside his studio, along with a few very important Top 5s. 

1. Top 5 Things You Should Definitely Not Feed A Lion: 

• a house
• a bomb 
• the principal 
• the Eiffel Tower 
• a toilet 

2. Top 5 things children tell me I definitely should feed a lion: 

• a house 
• a bomb 
•  the principal 
• the Eiffel Tower 
• a toilet 

Top 5 Things you definitely should not feed small children or lions: 

• Well you should never feed small children to lions, and you should never feed lions to small children.
• BUT, you can try feeding larger children to lions (it's more of a satisfying meal) and you can try feeding a single small lion to a group of children (I don't think they'd be able to polish off more than one lion but it depends on the size of the group and the size of the children).
• Small children and lions should also never eat chewing gum, or anything else that will stick to their hair or their mane - or their parents' hair or mane.
• Small children and lions should never eat anything they find down the back of the couch.
• Small children and lions should never eat tuna mornay. (It just tastes really gross).
  
  

3 Things every hungry lion should have: 

• good table manners 
• a large supply of digestive biscuits 
• a well-stocked litter tray 

Learn more about James, lions, and little boys who are handy with a toothbrush here.

Somebody's House, by Katrina Germein and Anthea Stead

Here’s a sneak peek inside one of our lovely new May titles, Somebody’s House, written by Katrina Germein and illustrated by Anthea Stead. It’s a vibrant, active book full of questions and wonderings, perfect for early readers. 

At the bottom of town lies a long looping street. I wonder who lives here. Who will we meet?







 

Ever wonder how artists get that perfect colour? Anthea snaps photos and keep track of hues she loves, from a rich, purply eggplant to the subtle green of a particular leaf. 







 
Best-selling picture book author Katrina Germein writes stories that delight children and adults alike. In 2011 Katrina's book My Dad Thinks He's Funny was short-listed for children's choice awards across Australia as well as being Highly Commended in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards. Aside from writing, sunshine makes Katrina happy and so does swimming in the sea with her three children. 


Anthea Stead is a graphic designer and illustrator who grew up in Sydney's western suburbs. She graduated from Sydney College of the Arts with a BA in Visual Communications and from there designed magazines both in Sydney and the UK while freelancing on the side as an illustrator. Anthea lives on the south coast of NSW with her husband and daughter. Somebody's House is her first book.