Selected by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan)

Poetry gets a rough deal with most children. Being forced to learn a long poem can take the joy of the rhyming words away.  Wouldn’t it be great if children thought poetry was fun?

Following that idea, Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and other bestselling rhyming books, has put together a fabulous selection of poems that are best read out loud, in groups of two or more children.  They range from T.S Eliot and WH Auden to Allan Ahlberg and Julia Donaldson herself.

Perfect for performance pieces at Speech and Drama eisteddfods or just reciting round the house loudly and with plenty of expression. Donaldson explains on her blog that performance can help children to enjoy reading and grow their confidence. If you’ve never bought your child a poetry book – make this your first one and read it with them.  Don’t leave the boys out – there’s a great selection of ‘sports’ poems like Football Mad on page 70. We’ve got the chorus stuck in our heads in my house;

“On no, bless my soul /Clever Trevor’s scored a goal.

He kicked it in the net, How much money will he get?’

(Benjamin Zephaniah).

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