Go on - write me a poem!

Ever since she was in Mrs. Huggin's class, aged 4 back in 1962; Melody Starkey has always loved poetry and had great fun making up simple rhymes - but then discovered you don't even need to make them rhyme! Poetry is about getting your feelings down in a special entertaining way; like making music with a pencil!

During her teaching career, helping children to write poetry was SO rewarding. This, therefore, is where this little book comes in... Here are some of the types of poetry that the children and Melody played around with. They are usefully grouped according to topics so then there's no excuse for not having a go yourselves!

It might of course be a handy tool for teachers to turn to when their brains are too tired to think of some reasonable examples!

Suitable for 7-year-olds to 70+ year olds, there are no hard and fast rules! The book is illustrated by Beth Blake, her sensitive original motifs capture the mood of the poems and the topics they explore.

Poetry is FREEDOM! Do what you want! Have fun!