BEST POETRY BOOKS

Someone's birthday? Why not give them a poetry book? If you're not sure which to choose, we've asked some of the best children's poets around for their suggestions. (And we've included some of their books too!) Click on the links to go to amazon.co.uk (for more information or to buy them - many of these books are on special offer) or make a note of the books and visit your local bookshop.

Young Children... Older Children... Teenagers...Grown-ups

For young children

Bartholomew and the Bug by Neal Layton. This is a delightful, quirky tale of friendship. Illustrations are a knock out. 6 stars out of 5. Me and my daughters loved it! James Carter

Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book Of Poetry (Walker Books) edited by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters. A lovely first poems book. Jill Townsend

The Ice Cream Carpet by Peter Sansom (Smith/Doorstop). It's fantastic, lively and thought-provoking and absolutely doesn't 'dumb down'. Catherine Smith

Animals Aboard! (Frances Lincoln) by Andrew Fusek Peters. There is a party on the train and all the animals are jumping aboard with their instruments. Follow the pace and rhythm of a locomotive as the party starts off slow and gets wilder and wilder then slows back down to a snooze at bedtime.

It's Raining, It's Pouring, We're Exploring (Childsplay) by Polly Peters and Jess Stockham. When bad weather prevents three children from playing outside, how can they possibly entertain themselves? Never fear! With a few home-made props and a great deal of ready imagination, the perfect plan is hatched.

Stroke the Cat (QED Publishing) by Wes Magee. Full of action rhymes and great pictures.

The Gruffalo (Macmillan Children's Books) by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It's a classic, with its hilarious rhymes, a sense of suspense and the surprise twist at the end. Recommended by David Harmer and Jane Clarke.

Stuck in the Mud (Puffin) by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Garry Parsons. Early in the morning, down on the farm, a new day is dawning, peaceful and calm. But then chaos strikes - Hen discovers one of her chicks is stuck in the mud!

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. The more I read this, and the Gruffalo, the better they get! David Harmer

Hey, Little Bug (Hands Up Books) by James Carter. This has lovely poems, and is beautifully produced. Brian Moses (It's first print run has now sold out - but try and a get a copy if you can. There are a few left on amazon or try here - http://www.jamescarterpoet.co.uk/ - RS)

Bunny Wishes (Chicken House) by Michaela Morgan and illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church. This is told in poetic prose and the denouement involves using cut up words to make a new message. It could inspire cut-up poems and language awareness - and is a tender Christmassy read aloud

Christmas Wishes (Orchard Books) by Tony Mitton with illustrations by Layn Marlow. This sparkly, verse-picture book is a rewrite of The Night Before Christmas but written in a contemporary style. The twist is that it's a family of mice who encounter Santa, albeit in a human dwelling.

Nonsense Nursery Rhymes (Oxford) by Richard Edwards. Guaranteed to make older children, as well as the very young, chuckle. John Foster

For older children aged 6 to 12

Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly & Gravy by Michael Rosen. Poems with really mad wordplays to very tender, sensitive ones. The CD is a real bonus, as Rosen, who reads the poems, is arguably our best performance poet for children. If I had to take one children's poetry collection to a desert island - this would be the one. A zillion stars out of five! James Carter

The Puffin Book of Utterly Brilliant Poetry (Puffin) edited by Brian Patten. It's a wonderfully funny book of poems and includes interviews with famous Poets. I love the great illustrations. And grown-ups will love it too. Sue Hardy-Dawson

Omba Bolomba (Smith/Doorstop) by Gerard Benson and To Catch an Elephant (Smith/Doorstop) by Gerard Benson. Some great poems by one of my favourite poets. RS

Swinging Through the Sky (Kate Williams) by Kate Williams. This is a book that, for me, has an old-fashioned feel to it, but is quite "original" because of that. Well-crafted poems flourish throughout, incorporating a range of topics (space, animals, pirates, dinosaurs, etc), moods and verse forms. This book deserves to be a success. Graham Denton

Silly Superstitions (Macmillan Children's Books) by Graham Denton. A great stocking filler!!! (RS)

Oxford Book of Children's Poetry (Oxford) edited by Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark. From classic favourites to vibrant new discoveries this wonderful and beautifully illustrated collection has every kind of poem you can think of. Recommended by Andrew Fusek Peters and John Mole

A Caribbean Dozen (Walker) edited by John Agard and Grace Nichols. Lively poems by leading poets about their childhoods in the Caribbean. John Foster

The Poetry Chest (Oxford) by John Foster. 250 of Johns best poems collected together. He is well-known for his many anthologies, in particular for his collaboration with Korky Paul on titles such as the brilliant Dinosaur Poems.

This Is The Blackbird (Peterloo Poets) by John Mole. This is a companion volume to the Signal Award winning Boo to a Goose and The Mad Parrot's Countdown. It contains new poems as well as a selection of John's work from various collections published since 1990 but now out of print.

The Hat by Carol Ann Duffy. Entertaining children's poems by one of the best adult poets around. Recommended by Bernard Young.

Wanted Alive (Hands-Up Books) by Bernard Young. Some great poems. Check out Bernard's interview in the Poetry Zone!

Behind the Staffroom Door (Macmillan Children's Books) by Brian Moses. This has got to be the ideal stocking filler. I'd buy a dozen and give one to every child you know! Bernard Young. You can get this on CD too - read by the poet himself. Behind the Staffroom Door CD

I'm very fond of Pirate Poems (Macmillan Children's Books) by David Harmer. Oooh arrrrghhhh!!!!! Boys, especially, will love it. RS

Why Otters Don't Wear Socks (Macmillan Children's Books) (The funniest poet around - James Carter) A great collect of funny, silly, sad and more thoughtful poems. Brian Moses Also available on CD.

For teenagers

Love (Macmillan) Poems chosen by Fiona Waters. Wishing for it, waiting for it, being in it, falling out of it, finding it, losing it, longing for it, grieving for it... "A superb selection." - Shelflife. Full of insights into an ever-intriguing subject. John Foster

Words on a Faded T-Shirt by Norman Silver. Full of gangs, girls, golems, goths, goldfish, gods and graffiti, this book of poems reflects on the state of the late 20th-century and what it really means to be a teenager or a doughnut. Bernard Young

For Grown-ups

Why should children have all the fun? Surprise your parents by buying them a book of poems.

Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange Times. Edited by Jo Shapcott and Mathew Sweeney. It's great to dip in and out of whenever you're happy, sad or just stuck in a train station. Sue Hardy-Dawson

The Other Day (Peterloo) by John Mole. The title poem recalls an afternoon spent with John Steinbeck when the author was seventeen!

Black Moon by Matthew Sweeney `Haunting fables of entrapment or imprisonment, of troubled sleep, of persecution and loneliness treated with Kafkaesque attention to detail.' Sunday Times Recommended by Bernard Young

Song Man by Will Hodgkinson is a sort of sequel to the equally brilliant 'Guitar Man' - this is a great stocking filler for Dads and music buffs and anyone that has wanted to write songs/play in a band. The author attempts - and succeeds - to write his own songs and record them as a ye olde 45 rpm single. Along the way he gets writing tips from the likes of Keith Richard and Andy Partridge. Five stars out of five! James Carter

The Book of Celtic Verse - A Treasury of Poetry, Dreams and Visions (Watkins Publishing) I picked this up in Cork. Lovely production for this collection by old and contemporary poets and songsmiths. Brian Moses

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