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He begins by looking at what rhymes are, different patterns of rhymes that are used within poems, always providing examples so you can see what he means. He goes through a large variety, including the use of alliteration and assonance and internal rhymes. He then moves on to discuss different types of poems with everything from Limericks and ballads to tongue twisters, haikus and sonnets! It's all written to be easily understood by an upper primary school aged child, but even younger children will still enjoy listening to some of the poems read out loud. It doesn't have a 'textbook' feel, so shouldn't be off-putting to any homework-phobic children! There are black and white drawings sprinkled throughout which add a little more humour and also help with the fun feel to the book.
The final section gives a useful guide to how to write poetry. It talks about how it can take a lot of practisepractice, to keep a notebook and make sure you read poems aloud to see if they the rhythm works. There's a section on how to actually begin, how to find rhymes, and even how to begin at the end, writing the final line first so you don't get stuck with a tricky rhyme!
Some of the poems are better than others, as is always the case with a collection like this, but they're all excellent examples to learn from. This would be a great book to purchase for any child who is a budding poet or is interesting in writing generally and would perhaps appreciate some guidance on how to get started.
Children might also enjoy reading [[Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech]] and [[A Children's Treasury of Milligan by Spike Milligan]]. We also have a review of [[I Wish I had a Pirate Hat by Roger Stevens]].
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