No birthdays and I can't show you photos of Poetry Day because I left the camera at school, but I did want to tell you about an amazing poetry book that I used a lot last year during Book Week when the theme was Book Safari. The book, Flamingo Bendalingo: Poems from the Zoo is a collection of animal poems by New Zealand poet, Paula Green and fifty children. Paula runs poetry workshops and after a series of workshops she took two groups of children to the Auckland Zoo to do more activities that she had designed. The result, this book, which is divided into two parts, a part with poems that she wrote, and another part with poems written by the children.
These poems have then been illustrated by prominent New Zealand artist, Michael Hight who also happens to be Paula Green's partner. The illustrations, black ink outlines with colour wash are divine - light and mischievous. And then to top off all this there is a glossary of poetry terms in the back with a myriad of examples that make you want to rush out and try writing or teaching them.
Here are two poems I loved:
Flamingo Ballet
Pink legs like statues
Lithe rubber necks stretch and bend
Flamingo ballet
Jessica Kyne 9
An Elephanty Poem
Loom large
Jumbo diddy elephiddy
Large loom
Jambo daddy elephaddy
Looming barge
Jimbo doddy elephinty
Large boom
Jumbo body elephanty.
Paula Green
Now to search for more by this talented duo!
And if you want to note Meteorological Day, why not start a discussion with Lilian Moore's poem:
Weather Report
Pinging rain
stinging sleet
tonight.
Frost at dawn,
bright
sun in the morning.
Ice-bearing trees,
a glass
orchard,
blinking
sunwinking.
A noonwind will
pass,
harvesting the brittle crop,
crashing
clinking.
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