The Panther and the Lash: Poems of Our Times - Langston Hughes

Advantages: It will make you believe in love.
Disadvantages: You may feel you are prying.

...Ted Hughes was always reticent about his marraige to Sylvia Plath and it seems beautifully appropriate that he should finally choose to talk about it in poetry. The poetry itself is polished, moving and thought-provoking but I suspect the real interest lies in its subject matter and you may find yourself trying to match poems to known biographical details. At times, indeed, you may feel that you are prying, and it is,of course, a very one sided account of the turbulent relationship shared by Hughes and Plath. Some of the poems are instantly accessible, others require several readings. Look out for the one poem addressed to the woman he left Sylvia for, and look out too for the final poem, "Red" which is perhaps the most poignant and heart breaking poem in the collection.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Packed with poems of all styles, great to read, a real bonus for your children
Disadvantages: N/A

...in wide variety of styles and from many different authors Some styles - riddles, puns, nonsense poems, performance poems, couplets, raps, narrative verse .... Some poets - Micheal Rosen, Roald Dahl, Ted Hughes, Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson ...... You can see from the lists above that poems and poets both traditional and modern are featured. In addition all of the poems are grouped by style but an index means you can find work by specific poets if you wish. It is advertised as ' a book packed with gems for dipping in to time and time again' and it's a statement I agree with. Invaluable for primary children, it would also be a great read for anyone interested in poetry . At the bargain price of £4.99 it's a steal!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: excellent for children
Disadvantages: nothing

...Out and about Shirley Hughes This book was published in 1988 by Walkers books. In this picture book a little girl and her baby brother romp through the year with poems about spring, mud, snow wind, sunshine, rain. Poems about climbing hills, splashing in water, playing on the beach, fireworks and snow. There are 44pages covered with delightful illustrations and the poems ones for you to read to your child aged 2 to about 5 a 6 /7 yr old will enjoy trying to read some him/her self. I found this book in the school library I shall use it for our weather topic. The last Poem in her book is about cold. Now the weather is getting colder I shall tell this to the children. Cold fingers, Cold toes, Pink sky, pink nose. Hard ground, Bare trees, Branches crack. Puddles freeze Frost white, Sun red Warm room, warm bed. This poem... Read review

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