The Letterbox Cat & Other Poems product reviews

We were very lucky to be given this book to review recently. I have always enjoyed reading poetry, and have fancied myself a poet throughout my teenage years. I love to read clever and funny poems, and this book looked like it was going to be a lot of fun.

Inside this book, is a selection of poems that are all fun or funny. Some are in shapes. Some are long, some are short. But all of the poems featured I found to be insightful and interesting. We read this book over the course of two nights but I think I could have easily read it in a 30 minute sitting. Each poem was refreshing and drew me in and onwards through the book.

I shared this book with my 7 year old. She had a strong preference for non-fiction, and hasn't really shown any interest in poems before. For this reason, I was keen to show her that there was more to reading and writing than just stories. The first few poems fell completely flat with her. One of the early poems talks about the stars as if they are pricks of light through a black blanket. She got frustrated at this because it wasn't true and she was worried other children would believe it.

So that allowed me to talk her through what a poem is and what it is not. We talked about imagination and impressions of feelings and how to express those and different ideas in short but snappy ways. I showed her some of the shape poems as well and then she just kind of "got it". The rest of the book, she was hooked and absolutely loved pointing out what shapes were what, and how the words hopped or slid or floated and what the author might have been thinking.

I'll be keen to pull this book out and revisit it a few more times with her and to read it with our 2 year old as well. From a purely literacy point, being exposed to different styles of prose can add a fun dimension to learning to read. Poems help increase vocabulary too, which can only be good for kids.

Poems are a fun way of getting children (and adults) interested in language. I find that they allow us to put aside some of the conventions of prose and read and write ideas as they flow. I have been privileged to be able to read and review 'The Letterbox Cat & Other Poems' by Paula Green.

The entire book is in black, white and red. The front cover has a classy variation between the matte finish of the book and the shiny cat and lettering. The bold nature of the cover draws the reader in and makes them want to read what is inside. Mr Four thought the front of the book was cute and he liked the cat on it.

After a quick flick through the pages of the book, I could see that there was an exciting mix of poems and picture poems. It certainly didn't look like any other book I have shared with my children before. This meant both the children and I were enthusiastic about the contents.

The picture poems were a lot of fun and my children thought the way I kept turning the book was really funny. I think that my children will use this book a lot over the years as they start to write their own poems and want some inspiration about how they might go about it.

While I was researching this book on the internet, I was lucky enough to stumble across some information about a reading of the book by the author, Paula Green, at one of our local bookshops here in Hamilton, Books for Kids. I took my two preschool children to the event and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I also found that I got a greater understanding and appreciation of the book as a result of attending the event.

During the reading, Paula worked with the children to create their own poem using the same format as 'The Library' poem in her book. The poem was written about Books for Kids and designed to gift to them (it is now posted on their FaceBook Page). It was amazing to see the children (including my four year old) putting forward their ideas and for them to be created into a poem right in front of their eyes. What a great way to show children how easily their ideas can be combined to make poetry.

Since hearing a real author read her book, Mr Four has been talking about poems and about the author. We spent most of the time driving home from the reading making up our own poems. When he was in the bath that night, he and I made a poem up about the bath using the same format as the poem 'Shoes' from the book. It showed Mr Four that even a young child could create his own poem using all the words he has in his vocabulary to describe something simple like a bath.

The Gargle Bird would have to have been my favourite poem in the book. I was very lucky to hear Paula reading this one to the people at the book shop. She read it with speed and variation in her voice it meant that the words became almost like a song with rhythm and a sense of motion.

I think that this book would offer classroom teachers a fabulous resource to encourage poetry writing in the classroom. The variety of poetry styles and forms gives plenty of options for children to model their own poems on.

Over the last few days, my children have kept handing me the book and asking me to read 'just one more' poem from it! I think this will become a well-loved part of our reading sessions at home.