Apes to Zebras: An A-Z of Shape Poems

The idea of words arranged to form a shape stretches back to ancient times. There are examples from Greek Alexandria in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, where words have been shaped to form an egg, wings and pan pipes. It's a very natural form to have been adopted by children's poets with its immediate visual impact. And visual impact this new anthology by three renowned children's poets certainly has!

In Apes to Zebras: An A - Z of Shape Poems, Liz Brownlee, Sue Hardy-Dawson and Roger Stevens have collaborated to produce a rich collection of alphabetically ordered shape poems taken from the animal world. Hardy-Dawson and Brownlee have artfully shaped each poem, enhanced by Lorna Scobie's delightful illustrations. All too often, the lyrics of shape poems for children can be overtaken by the need to fit them into the shape. This volume demonstrates how skilful shaping can complement rather than compromise the lyricism and rhythm of the poem.

'Emperor Penguin' (p. 30) depicts a shapely penguin and, despite not following a regular two-line pattern for its rhyming couplets, is still easy to read rhythmically. Standing on spindly (one word) legs, 'The Giraffe' (p.35) also achieves an easy rhythm despite the challenging outline. Consistently clever shaping means that the adage 'less is more' is so true of this volume. Look at the repetition of 'Burnt paper cuts slitting the moon / bats at dusk' that swoop across the moon and dark sky in 'Bats' (p. 10) or the crafty swirls of the mosquito (p.60): 'I'm coming to get you' eddying closer and closer with its ever-increasing font size. It's a delight to spot the 'er' of 'spider forming the owl's face in 'Barn Owl' (p.8).

These are poems that demand to be closely observed: a 'b' leaps out of 'because' to create a flying bee in 'Bees' (p.13). And then there's a puzzle for the children who may wonder why all the 'b's thereafter are not attached to words - until they spot them at the bottom of the page (apparently falling away: the poem is about the plight of threatened bees today).

In Peacock (p.74), punctuation joins in with the fun with an arch of exclamation marks outlining the peacock's extended tail, attached to the body with the words 'eyes'. There are cross-curricular possibilities of course as we encounter some little known animals - the quokka (p.82), a cute, ever-smiling animals who makes a sprightly prance across the page. Equally charming are the depictions of smaller birds (Humming bird (p.44), Robin (p.84) and Wren (p. 118).

There are wonderful humorous touches too. A magpie (p. 56) shaped entirely in 'm's (mmm!) sits atop her 'treasure nest' of booty, each item descriptively shaped ('bottle top', 'silver foil..') and I won't spoil the sheer laugh out loud quality of 'Stick insect' (p.100).

The book concludes with a couple of useful 'You try' suggestions. This beautifully designed book with its ingenious and shapely poetry needs to find its way into every classroom!

128 pages / Ages 7+ / Reviewed by Alison Kelly, consultant.

Suggested Reading Age 7+