Monday 9 March 2015

A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children: book review

A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children

Book review by Trevor Agnew


A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children (2014) ed. Paula Green, ill. Jenny Cooper, Random House, Auckland NZ, 288 pages, hardback  ISBN 978 1 77553 356 6 

 
Treasury is the correct word.  This handsome collection, A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children, contains a wide range of poems by well-known New Zealand poets of both past (James, K. Baxter, Ruth Dallas, Janet Frame, ) and present (Jenny Bornholdt, C.K. Stead, Peter Bland).  Many of the poets represented are also well known as young people’s writers (such as Margaret Mahy, Gavin Bishop, Bill Nagelkerke, Joy Cowley and James Norcliffe).

There are also poems by twenty young poets, the winners of the Fabulous Poetry Competition for Children (selected from some two thousand entries).

The editor, poet Paula Green, advises young readers, “Pick a poem from the treasure box, hold it up to the light, find your favourite cosy spot and start reading.”

Jenny Cooper has created an appropriate (and sometimes very funny) colour illustration to accompany each poem.

 

Trevor Agnew 

7 Oct 2014  

 

 

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