Cats! Some are sane and some are mad and some are good and some are bad. Meet magical Mr Mistoffelees, sleepy Old Deuteronomy and curious Rum Tum Tugger. But you'll be lucky to meet Macavity because Macavity's not there! In 1925 T. S. Eliot became co-director of Faber & Faber, who remain his publishers to this day. Throughout the 1930s he composed the now famous poems about Macavity, Old Deuteronomy, Mr Mistoffelees and many other cats, under the name of 'Old Possum'. In 1981 Eliot's poems were set to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber as Cats, which went on to become the longest-running Broadway musical in history and is now a film starring Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, Francesca Hayward and James Corden. With illustrations by Rebecca Ashdown. The Christmas, you will believe!

Stevie is eleven and loves reading and sea-creatures. She lives with her mum, and she's been best friends with Andrew since forever. Stevie's mum teases her that someday they'll get married, but Stevie knows that won't ever happen. There's a girl at school that she likes more. A lot more. Actually, she's a bit confused about how much she likes her. It's nothing like the way she likes Andrew. It makes her fizz inside. That's a new feeling, one she doesn't understand. Stevie needs to find out if girls can like girls - love them, even - but it's hard to get any information, and she's too shy to ask out loud about it. But maybe she can find an answer in a book. With the help of a librarian, Stevie finds stories of girls loving girls, and builds up her courage to share the truth with her mum. Written in accessible verse `chapters' and in a warm and reassuring style, The Deepest Breath will be of special relevance to young girls who are starting to realise that they are attracted to other girls, but it is also a story for any young reader with an open mind who wants to understand how people's emotions affect their lives.

This "evocative and beautiful" (School Library Journal) novel "vividly imagines the lives of three girls" (Booklist, starred review) in three different time periods as they grow up to become groundbreaking scientists. Maria Merian was sure that caterpillars were not wicked things born from mud, as most people of her time believed. Through careful observation she discovered the truth about metamorphosis and documented her findings in gorgeous paintings of the life cycles of insects. More than a century later, Mary Anning helped her father collect stone sea creatures from the cliffs in southwest England. To him they were merely a source of income, but to Mary they held a stronger fascination. Intrepid and patient, she eventually discovered fossils that would change people's vision of the past. Across the ocean, Maria Mitchell helped her mapmaker father in the whaling village of Nantucket. At night they explored the starry sky through his telescope. Maria longed to discover a new comet-and after years of studying the night sky, she finally did. Told in vibrant, evocative poems, this stunning novel celebrates the joy of discovery and finding wonder in the world around us.

With the increased focus on children's language in Early Years education, poetry can be a valuable tool in enhancing speaking, listening and communication. This book provides parents and practitioners with a guide on how and where to start with using poetry with children. Combined with practical suggestions on finding and using poems with children of differing ages and language ability, it also offers advice on how to encourage children to create and develop their own poems. Exploring Poetry with Young Children includes an anthology of a wide range of poems to use with children based on their everyday experiences, ensuring that adults can enhance the learning experience as it happens and enrich the language development of the children in their care. Divided into two parts, this book covers: the nature of poetry and why it can be such important part of our well-being; ways of using and sharing poetry with babies and toddlers; how to share poetry with children as they become confident users of language; the rhyming aspects of verse and ways in which these can be used to develop children's phonic awareness; the importance of establishing a poetic awareness in young children. This will be an essential guide for all Early Years practitioners, students and parents who are interested in using poetry to develop the speaking, listening and communication skills of young children.

A refreshed cover edition of Gaby Morgan's Read Me: A Poem for Every Day of the Year, the bestselling poetry anthology with over a quarter of a million copies sold. This anthology is perfect for sharing with the all the family - it contains a poem for every day of the year from the very best modern and classic poets, so you're sure to find familiar favourites along with exciting new discoveries. 365 rhymes, verses and poems from the likes of Brian Patten, William Wordsworth, A. A. Milne, Emily Dickinson, Wes Magee, William Blake, Seamus Heaney, Ian McMillan, Gareth Owen and Walter de la Mare. This inspiring and heart-warming collection is the perfect gift that will last the whole year, with a little bit of magic to read every day.

Xander Panda wants to throw a party, but a panda party would have only one guest--himself. So, he decides to invite all the bears. But Koala protests. She's not a bear--she's a marsupial! Does that mean she can't come? Xander rethinks his decision to invite only bears, and "Calling all bears" evolves into "Calling all creatures." The Newbery Medal author Linda Sue Park introduces animal taxonomy in a wonderfully engaging way, and the celebrated artist Matt Phelan's charming ink and watercolor paintings are the icing on the cake.

Black cats born at midnight
Are different indeed
A mischievous, odd
And peculiar breed

In the middle of winter, three kittens are born in a barn. Two are ordinary, but the third, jet black and born on the stroke of midnight, is brimming with magic from whiskers to tail – even sparking life into a dusty old broomstick! While her siblings pounce at rats, Midnight perfects her flying skills on the broom, not noticing how her mother disapproves of her magical ways…

When Midnight finds herself abandoned, the little black kitten sets out to find a new home with only her loyal broom Twiggy at her side. The pair soon befriend a kind-hearted girl called Trixie. But how will Trixie’s family react to Midnight’s extraordinary powers and taste for mischief?

A bewitching new series from the best-selling author of A PINCH OF MAGIC, Michelle Harrison. Told in rhyming verse and illustrated in colour throughout, this is perfect for readers of SQUISHY MCFLUFF, HUBBLE BUBBLE and GOBBOLINO.

If you're sleepy in the jungle And you wish to find a pillow, Take a friendly word of warning: DO NOT USE AN ARMADILLO! Covering everything from centipedes to whales, from swinging on swings to ice-skating in winter, from eating applesauce to celebrating birthdays, the delightful poems in this extensive collection convey the experiences of childhood with a fresh timelessness.

Owl sets out to woo Pussycat in a boat laden with fruit and with a guitar at his side, ready for serenading. Pussycat sits looking elegant and demure, waiting to be courted. But as they sail off across the sea, another love story unfolds in the clear water beneath the boat. "Brett sets Lear's beloved poem of courtly nonsense in a lush, brilliantly lit Caribbean landscape".--Booklist, starred review. Full color.

A new school year: nits, crushes, maths lessons, and rainy-day lunchtimes. But what happens when you send a bunch of poets to school? They loiter in corners and see between the lines. They notice the school bus is missing, there are hungry piranhas in the gym, that someone's painted everything blue. In Skinny Dip!, the makers of the best-selling Annuals bring you over thirty poems for young readers from all the New Zealand writers we love: Sam Duckor-Jones, essa may ranapiri, Bill Manhire, Anahera Gildea, Amy McDaid, Kotuku Nuttall, Ben Brown, Ashleigh Young, Rata Gordon, Dinah Hawken, Oscar Upperton, Nina Mingya Powles, James Brown, Victor Rodger, Tim Upperton, Lynley Edmeades, Freya Daly Sadgrove, Renee Liang and Nick Ascroft. Edited by two of New Zealand's most astute and experienced champions of great books for young readers, and with stylish illustrations by Amy van Luijk, this witty collection gives young readers in years 7 to 10 and their teachers and whanau a crash-course in the range of poetic forms while having a whole lot of reading fun.

A New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Red at the Bone, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson's eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become. A National Book Award Winner A Newbery Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Award Winner Praise for Jacqueline Woodson: Ms. Woodson writes with a sure understanding of the thoughts of young people, offering a poetic, eloquent narrative that is not simply a story . . . but a mature exploration of grown-up issues and self-discovery."-The New York Times Book Review

A young troll must defend the town from a gang of destructive, deadly dinosaurs! Recruiting allies - a goblin wizard and a snotty, sneezing dragon - does this troll have what it takes to save the day and calm these dangerous dinos' raging reign? Dommy B's latest adventure for children over 5 is adapted from his high energy, 4-star Edinburgh Fringe show, and also includes puzzles and over 40 b&w illustrations. It is the fourth exciting story in his Dragon series.

Thirteen classic poems by poets such as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and David McCord are paired with parodies that honor and play off of the original poems in a range of ways. For example, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is paired with "Stopping by Fridge on a Hungry Evening" to hilarious effect, whereas the combination of Emily Dickinson's "'Hope' is the thing with feathers" with Lewis's "'Grief' is the thing with tissues" is profound, and both David McCord's "This Is My Rock" and Lewis's "This Is My Tree" hum with a sense of wonder. This playful introduction to classics will inspire imagination and wonder even as it tickles funny bones.

Kick your boots off, everyone. Summer's here and so's the sun. Bright, bold and accessible, this collection of rhymes and poems for children is perfect for joining in. There are animal rhymes, rhymes to make you shuffle and squelch and clatter and patter, and rhymes to make you gallop like a horse or slide down the banister. In Shuffle and Squelch, Julia Donaldson's verse jumps off the page and Nick Sharratt's snazzy illustrations add to the fun. Look out for rhymes for younger children from Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt in Wriggle and Roar.

A magnificent anthology of poems themed around different moods, collected by the bestselling creator of The Poetry Pharmacy and illustrated by Emily Sutton. This exquisite gift-book contains over a hundred poems, chosen by creator of the bestselling The Poetry Pharmacy, William Sieghart, and illustrated in sensational style by picture-book star Emily Sutton. Divided into four thoughtfully-curated sections, including Poems to Make You Smile, Poems to Move You, Poems to Give You Hope and Poems to Calm and Connect You, the poems originate from an extraordinary and diverse range of sources, from Maya Angelou to Roger McGough, Lemn Sissay, Jackie Kay, Carol Ann Duffy, Joseph Coelho, Kae Tempest, W.B. Yeats, Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson, among many others. Combining traditional favourites with recent gems, here are poems to delight, inspire, entertain, intrigue, console and uplift readers of all ages.

Daisy goes back to her roots! Think you know Daisy-Head Mayzie? Think again! With all-new illustrations and a revised plot based on Dr. Seuss's original screenplay and signature-style sketches, the timeless tale of Mayzie McGrew-a girl who suddenly sprouts a daisy from her head-is sweeter, funnier, and . . . well . . . more Seussian than ever! Some things, however, remain the same: In the same zany way that the Cat wreaks havoc in The Cat in the Hat, the darling blossom that springs from Mayzie's head sets off a series of madcap reactions that will leave young readers (and their lucky parents) giggling with glee. An ideal comic choice for celebrating those qualities that make each of us unique, this brand-new edition of Daisy-Head Mayzie is perfect just the way it is!

In 1838, Robert Schumann composed a 13 piece piano work which he entitled Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood). He later added individual titles for each movement, after his wife Clara commented that he sometimes seemed like a child himself. These 13 pieces depict the daily life and experiences of a child, as well as his relationship with his parents and with his own world – as seen from a nostalgic adult’s perspective. Philip de Vos was inspired by both Schumann’s music and titles to write verses of his own.

New and existing material has been brought together to provide this morbidly humorous collection. Well-known poets include Roger McGough, Dick King-Smith, Michael Rosen and John Foster himself.

Di dry skis on a dry ski slope
Dry slope skiing on a dry ski slope
Slalom skiing on a dry ski slope
Dry Di dry skis dry ski slopes

Paul Cookson