Lockdown saw a widespread recognition of the necessity for contact with the natural world to maintain health and well-being. From the challenging gaze of the red fox to the eyelike whorls of silver birch bark to the balletic wings of the swift wrapping around the words, the images fix the words indelibly into your mind. The lyrical consonant tones or staccato beats of these beautiful spells is absolutely matched by the harmonious fluidity of the watercolour images that grace each page. But there has always been singing in dark times-and wonder is needed now more than ever.” Acrostic poems with the letters picked out in gold, feature most in this collection, as does the poet’s amazing facility with kennings and descriptive word play shown to great comic effect in Woodpecker “Chisel-gouger, head-banger, bark-stripper, nerve-shredder” Structured as a dialogue with badger one can see how much this lends itself to reading and performing aloud as indeed is the author’s intention with all the collection. As the introduction says “Loss is the tune of our age, hard to miss and hard to bear. Whereas The Lost Words had a formal triptych structure to its spells, this collection is freer and ranges from celebratory to elegiac and sorrowful. These animals, birds, trees and flowers may be relatively common but are often underappreciated and ignored. This is a pocket-sized treasure containing twenty-one new ‘spells’- poems inspired by the natural world around us.

The duo that produced the cultural phenomenon that took the publishing world by storm in 2017, winning awards and sparking dozens of fundraising campaigns to get The Lost Words into every primary school, have now produced a book very different in form, but absolutely kindred in spirit and every bit as essential a purchase. 20+ Brilliant Books Featuring Unforgettable Deaf or Hard of Hearing Characters for Deaf Awareness Week.Celebrate King Charles III and his Coronation with these Majestic Children's Books.New imprint, Pineapple Lane, launches with seven Ukrainian picture books.Sally Anne Garland and The Art of the Every Day.Fit for a King and May Day Madness! Topical themes to inspire aspiring young writers.The year’s outstanding debut authors for children: shortlist for the 2023 Branford Boase Award announced.

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