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Chapters (133)
  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. A Smile
  4. Yes
  5. The Laughter Forecast
  6. from Pippa Passes
  7. The Feeling of Having a Good Day
  8. To See a World
  9. Hope on a Rope
  10. The Teacher’s Gift
  11. High Achievers
  12. Picking Teams
  13. Best Friends
  14. Oath of Friendship
  15. May You Always
  16. Squeezes
  17. Don’t
  18. Mother to Son
  19. Two People
  20. You Have a Body
  21. Three Good Things
  22. The Cupboard
  23. BOY GIRL
  24. Isn’t My Name Magical?
  25. Keeping Wicket
  26. My Sister
  27. Middle Child
  28. Siblings
  29. A Blessing
  30. Paintings that Move
  31. Heroes
  32. Cats
  33. Cat
  34. Charlotte’s Dog
  35. Tell It to the Dog
  36. A Meerkat Lullaby
  37. Weird Wildlife
  38. Mad Gardener’s Song
  39. The Blind Men and the Elephant
  40. Mr McGuire
  41. Wonderful Worms
  42. Song of Mr Toad
  43. The Frog
  44. The Brushbaby
  45. The Porcupie
  46. Little Trotty Wagtail
  47. The Cuckoo
  48. The Eagle
  49. Be Like the Bird
  50. The Bird’s Nest
  51. The Hen
  52. Four Ducks on a Pond
  53. The Prayer of the Little Ducks
  54. I Saw a Ship a-Sailing
  55. Penelope’s Hats
  56. The Look
  57. Snakestanger
  58. The Bee’s Knees
  59. Bees
  60. Spelling Bees
  61. Poetry
  62. The Uncertainty of the Poet
  63. OIC
  64. The WOW!
  65. Travel
  66. From a Railway Carriage
  67. The Six Strings
  68. Tarantella
  69. This Poem . . .
  70. The Strawberry-Yogurt Smell of Words
  71. A Dictionary of Snow
  72. To Lalla, Reading my Verses Topsy-Turvy
  73. The Dictionary Bird
  74. Driven to Distraction
  75. Pencil World
  76. Bookish
  77. Just a Book?
  78. Today I Read a Bus Stop
  79. Wise One
  80. Apostrophe
  81. Comma
  82. Comparisons
  83. Back Room Boy
  84. A Song about Myself
  85. A Boy’s Song
  86. The Magic Pebble
  87. The Magic of the Brain
  88. I Saw a Peacock
  89. The Grammarian Saw a Peacock
  90. What is Pink?
  91. First Morning
  92. A Feather from an Angel
  93. The Treasures
  94. A Memory
  95. A Drop in the Ocean
  96. Voices of Water
  97. Roots
  98. Bulb
  99. from Home Thoughts from Abroad
  100. A Slash of Blue
  101. Loveliest of Trees
  102. The Sensation of Well-Being
  103. In the Tree’s Defence
  104. from Blueberries
  105. Beetroot
  106. Fish and Chips
  107. The Potatoes My Dad Cooks
  108. The Storm
  109. The Wind in a Frolic
  110. The Windmill
  111. Daybreak
  112. The Moon and a Cloud
  113. The Star
  114. Star
  115. Stars
  116. Comet
  117. Winter Morning
  118. February Twilight
  119. Night
  120. One Bright September Morning
  121. Pleasant Sounds
  122. Where Go the Boats?
  123. The Cataract of Lodore
  124. Empty Places
  125. Out in the Desert
  126. Contentment
  127. Sun is Laughing
  128. Changing Places
  129. Smile
  130. Acknowledgements
  131. About the Author
  132. Praise for Roger McGough
  133. Also available from Macmillan

Ahlberg, Allan: ‘Picking Teams’ from Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg (Puffin, 2013). Copyright © Allan Ahlberg, 1984; Agard, John: ‘First Morning’ copyright © 1990 by John Agard, reprinted by permission of John Agard c/o Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency Ltd; Alborough, Jez: ‘A Smile’ copyright © Jez Alborough. Reprinted by permission of the author; Berry, James: ‘Isn’t My Name Magical’ from A Story I Am In: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2011), copyright © James Berry. Reprinted by permission of Bloodaxe Books; Bevan, Clare: ‘The Treasures’ copyright © Clare Bevan, first published in Poems to Perform by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2013). Reprinted by permission of the author; Bilston, Brian: ‘Hope on a Rope’ and ‘Comma’, copyright © Brian Bilston. Reprinted by permission of the author; Bloom, Valerie: ‘Keeping Wicket’ © 2000 Valerie Bloom, from Give the Ball to the Poet, reprinted by permission of the author; Chisholm, Alison: ‘Bulb’ from A Time to Speak and a Time to Listen (Schoefiled and Sons, 2013), copyright © Alison Chisholm. Reprinted by permission of the author ;Clarke, Jane: ‘A Drop in the Ocean’, copyright © Jane Clarke, first published in Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Twist by Paul Cookson (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2002). Reprinted by permission of the author; Clerihew Bentley, E.: ‘Contentment’ from The Complete Clerihews of Clerihew Bentley, copyright © E. Clerihew Bentley 1963. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown Group Ltd, London on behalf of the Estate of E Clerihew Bentley; Coe, Mandy: ‘The Strawberry-Yogurt Smell of Words’ copyright © Mandy Coe. First published in If You Could See Laughter (Salt Publishing, 2010). Reprinted by permission of the author; Coelho, Joseph: ‘Siblings’ from Werewolf Club Rules by Joseph Coelho, published by Frances Lincoln Ltd, copyright © 2014, reprinted by permission of Frances Lincoln Ltd, an imprint of The Quarto Group; Cookson, Paul: May You Always ©Paul Cookson, reprinted by permission of the author; Cope, Wendy: ‘The Uncertainty of the Poet’ copyright © Wendy Cope, reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber; Corbett, Pie: ‘Stars’, copyright © Pie Corbett. Reprinted by permission of the author; Cowling, Sue: ‘The Laughter Forecast’, copyright © Sue Cowling, reprinted by permission of the author; de la Mare, Walter: ‘The Cupboard’, copyright © The Literary Trustees of Walter de la Mare, reprinted by permission granted by their representatives The Society of Authors; Dean, Jan: ‘Three Good Things’ first published in A Poem for Every Night of the Year (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2017) copyright © Jan Dean, used by permission of the author; Duffy, Carol Ann: ‘The Look’ from The Hat by Carol Anne Duffy (Faber and Faber 2007), copyright © Carol Ann Duffy, reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd; Farjeon, Eleanor: ‘Cats’ from Blackbird has Spoken by Eleanor Farjeon (Macmillan Children’s Books, 1999), copyright © Eleanor Farjeon, reprinted by permission of David Higham Associates; Frost, Robert: from ‘Blueberries’ from Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost (published by Jonathan Cape), reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited. Canadian permissions provided by Henry Holt and Company from The Poetry of Robert Frost edited by Edward Connery Lathem, copyright © 1969 Robert Frost; Gittins, Chrissie: ‘Driven to Distraction’, first published in Now You See Me, Now You… (Rabbit Hole Publications, 2002) and ‘Beetroot’, first published in Adder, Bluebell, Lobster (Otter-Barry Books, 2016), copyright © Chrissie Gittins, reprinted by permission of the author; Goldsworthy, Peter: ‘Bees’ copyright © Peter Goldsworthy, used by arrangement with the licensor, Peter Goldsworth, c/o Curtis Brown (Aust) Pty Ltd; Greig, Louise: ‘A Memory’ copyright © Louise Greig, reprinted by permission of the author; Harrold, A. F.: ‘Penelope’s Hats’ and ‘In the Tree’s Defence’ copyright © A. F. Harrold, reprinted by permission of the author. Hegley, John: ‘Poetry’ copyright © John Hegley1991, reprinted by permission of United Agents; Henderson, Kathy: ‘Today I Read a Bus Stop’ from The Dragon with a Big Nose by Kathy Henderson (published by Frances Lincoln Ltd), copyright © 2013, reprinted by permission of Frances Lincoln Ltd, an imprint of The Quarto Group; Henderson, Stewart: ‘Paintings that Move’ and ‘Changing Places’ from the collection All Things Weird and Wonderful by Stewart Henderson (published by Lion Children’s Books) copyright © Stewart Henderson 2003; Henri, Adrian: ‘Best Friends’ by Adrian Henri (published by Methuen, 1986), copyright © Adrian Henri, reprinted by permission of the estate of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd; Joseph, Jenny: ‘The Magic of the Brain’ copyright © Jenny Joseph, taken from Extreme of Things published by Bloodaxe Books, 2006. Reprinted with the kind permission of Johnson & Alcock Ltd; Kinnell, Galway: ‘Daybreak’ from Mortal Acts, Mortal Words by Galway Kinnell, copyright © 1980 by Galway Kinnell, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved; Limburg, Joanne: ‘The Feeling of Having a Good Day’ and ‘The Potatoes My Dad Cooks’ from the collection Bookside Down (Salt Publishing, 2013), copyright © Joanne Limburg, reprinted by permission of the author; MacRae, Lindsay: ‘Middle Child’, copyright © Lindsay MacRae, reprinted by permission of the author; Mahy, Margaret: ‘My Sister’ and ‘Dictionary Bird’ by Margaret Mahy, copyright © Margaret Mahy, reprinted by permission of Watson, Little Agency; McGough, Roger: ‘A Meerkat Lullaby’, ‘The Brushbaby’, ‘Spelling Bees’, ‘The WOW!’, ‘Apostrophe’ and ‘The Magic Pebble’, copyright © Roger McGough, reprinted by permission of the author; Merriam, Eve: ‘Two People’ from A Word or Two with You by Eve Merriam, copyright © 1981 Eve Merriam, all rights renewed and reserved, reprinted by permission of Marian Reiner; Mitchell, Adrian: ‘Yes’ copyright © The Estate of Adrian Mitchell, reprinted by permission of United Agents; Mitchell, Elma: ‘This Poem…’ from People Etcetera: Poems New and Selected (Peterloo Pets, 1987) by Elma Mitchell, copyright © The Elma Mitchell Estate, reprinted with permission; Mitton, Tony: ‘Pencil World’ from Toothpaste Trouble (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2002) and ‘Voices in the Water’ from Poems to Perform (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2014), copyright © Tony Mitton, reprinted by permission of David Higham Associates; Morgan, Michaela: ‘Star’, first published in Wonderland: Alice in Poetry ed Michaela Morgan (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2016), copyright © Michaela Morgan, reprinted by permission of the author; Moses, Brian: ‘A Feather from an Angel’ and ‘Empty Places’ from Lost Magic: The Very Best of Brian Moses’ (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2016), copyright © Brian Moses, reprinted by permission of the author; Nichols, Grace: ‘Sun is Laughing’ copyright © Grace Nichols, reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown Limited, London on behalf of Grace Nichols; O’Neil, Kate: ‘High Achievers’ from Let in the Stars, an anthology of poems from the Manchester Writing for Children Prize ed. Mandy Coe, copyright © Kate O’Neil, reprinted by permission of the author; Patten, Brian: ‘Squeezes’ from Haven’t You Grown! by Brian Patten (published by Kingfisher, 2004), and ‘Mr McGuire’ from The Utter Nutters (Puffin, 1995), copyright © Brian Patten, reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd; Ray, Rita: ‘A Dictionary of Snow’ from Orange, Silver, Sausage ed. J. Carter and G Denton (Walker Books, 2009) and The Bees Knees ed. G Boswell (Stride, 1990), copyright © Rita Ray, reprinted by permission of the author; Rooney, Rachel: ‘Bookish’, previously titled ‘Uses’ from Wonderland: Alice in Poetry (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2016), copyright © Rachel Rooney, reprinted by permission of the author; Rosen, Michael: ‘Wise One’ from Quick, Let’s Get Out of Here by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Quentin Blake (Andrew Deutsch 1983, Puffin 2006), text copyright © Michael Rosen 1983, reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd; Seigal, Joshua: ‘Tell it to the Dog’ and ‘Just a Book?’ copyright © Joshua Seigal, used by permission of the author; Stevens, Roger: ‘Back Room Boy’ from It’s Not My Fault poems by Roger Stevens and Steven Withrow, (Bloomsbury, 2016), copyright © Roger Stevens, reprinted by permission of the author; Szirtes, George: ‘The Bee’s Knees’ from In the Land of Giants (Salt Publishing, 2012) and ‘You Have a Body’ from How to be a Tiger (Otter-Barry Books, 2017), copyright © George Szirtes, reprinted by permission of the author; Turner, Steve: ‘The Teacher’s Gift’ from Dad, You’re Not Funny (Lion, 1999) and ‘Roots’ from I Was Only Asking (Lion, 2004) copyright © Steve Turner, reprinted by permission of the author; Wade, Barrie: ‘Don’t’ copyright © Barrie Wade, reprinted by permission of the author; Wakeling, Kate: ‘Comet’ first published in Moon Juice by Kate Wakeling, (The Emma Press, 2016), copyright © Kate Wakeling, reprinted by permission of The Emma Press; Wright, James: ‘A Blessing’ from Above the River: The Complete Poems by James Wright (Wesleyan Press and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992), copyright © James Wright, reprinted by permission of Wesleyan Press; Wright, Kit: ‘Charlotte’s Dog’ first published in Cat among the Pigeons (Viking/Kestrel, 1987), copyright © Kit Wright, reprinted by permission of the author; Zephaniah, Benjamin: ‘Heroes’ from Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah (Viking, 1994), copyright © Benjamin Zephaniah 1994, reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.