A beautifully packaged, perfectly sized and long overdue collection of Baxter’s timeless kids’ poems
Seagull Seagull
A new gift edition of James K Baxter’s classic poems for children, illustrated by Kieran Rynhart.
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Description
The poems in Seagull Seagull are light and easy read-alouds for classrooms or with toddlers-on-the-couch.
James K Baxter wrote these poems when he was teaching in Lower Hutt in the 1950s. Successful in the classroom, they have been regularly reprinted in anthologies and collections and remain popular for their accessible rhythms, humour, and quintessentially New Zealand settings.
This new gift edition of Baxter’s poems is illustrated by Kieran Rynhart in dramatic spreads and beautifully drawn details.
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Book Details
Country of Origin New Zealand Reader Age 5-7 year, 6-8 year Book Size ISBN
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Reviews
Available worldwide from your local bookstore or online.
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The Listener, 50 Best Kids’ Books of 2020 –
A beautifully packaged, perfectly sized and long overdue collection of Baxter’s timeless kids’ poems
The English Association –
Baxter’s poems read well aloud and cover a range of writing forms, and moods. There is much fun and plenty to reflect on. The beautiful illustrations repay close study. A very useful anthology for the KS1 classroom.
Juno Magazine –
This is a beautiful gift edition of a selection of poems…Gorgeously illustrated and with poems for all seasons, this is a lovely anthology.
Irish Independent –
The pages are full of timeless verse about subjects close to every child’s heart, especially those with adventurous spirits; tree houses, swings, whales, ships, steam engines, all are captured with verve and aplomb on the page…The lush, atmospheric illustrations add to the book’s appeal. Perfect for reading aloud to thoughtful children
Jill Bennett, Red Reading Hub –
Opening this book on the page opposite the contents, I read ‘Grasshopper green, / Grasshopper grey, / Why do you sit and fiddle all day? // Grasshopper grey, / Grasshopper Green. / Tell me of the wonderful things that you’ve seen.’
I know that poem I thought to myself and then realised why.
This is a new edition of New Zealand poet, James K. Baxter’s classic poetry – a selection of 20 poems from his book The Tree House, written for his class when he was a primary school teacher. The Tree House first published I think in the 1970s, is a book I had in my collection of poetry books at one time and his poems have been frequently anthologised by people such as myself.
Equally, I can recall reading Jack Frost to some of my classes way back in the 1980/90s. That’s the one that begins, ‘Look out, look out, / Jack Frost’s about! / He’ll nip your ears / And bite your snout!’ How well I remember those lines and my infants shouting it when the frost set in.
The more I read, the more excited I became: it was a real trip down memory lane to come upon Andy Dandy again, as well as meeting again The Old Owl as it sits on the branch of a gum tree telling listeners and readers, ‘There’s nobody here / But the moon and me:’ …
‘I’m as old as old, / And wise as wise, / And I see in the dark / With my great round eyes. // “So hurry and scurry,’ / The old owl said – / Pack up your toys / And get ready for bed.’
What wonderful images these words conjure up: and they surely have for Kieran Rynhart whose lovely illustrations grace the pages of this book.
I have no idea what happened to my copy of The Tree House but I shall most definitely enjoy sharing Seagull Seagull with children at every opportunity.