Spooky Poems Aloud: 25 Poems to Frighten and Delight

By Author / Illustrator

Joseph Coelho, Daniel Gray-Barnett

Genre

Poetry

Age range(s)

Publisher

Quarto

ISBN

9780711287396

Format

Hardback

Published

05-09-2024

Synopsis

From Children's Laureate (2022-2024), Joseph Coelho, comes a giggling and ghoulish compendium of 25 spooky poems to perform. With a delightful blend of giggles and ghouls, this collection is designed for young readers and budding performers.

Within these pages, you'll discover poems that can be recited loudly, softly, or in a ghostly whisper, offering a diverse range of performances. Some poems are meant to make your audience jump or send shivers down their spine, while others weave spell-poems that can enchant a witch's cat or cast a spell of laughter. There are even poems that will tickle your funny bones.

Spooky Poems Aloud is the perfect collection of Halloween-themed poems for children to build confidence in reading aloud and nurture their speech and drama skills. Joseph Coelho's imaginative words will transport young readers into the world of whimsical and eerie tales, making this book a treasure trove for children of all ages and reading abilities.

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Reviews

Sue

Just in time for the spooky season comes this suitably scary collection of poems from Joseph Coelho. Spooky Poems Aloud is the fourth book in the 'Poetry to Perform' series and offers a perfectly-pitched selection of poems to add some shivers to Hallowe’en!

Each of these 25 poems just cries out to be performed, encouraging children to explore the use of dynamics, tone and gesture to support their presentation, having great fun in the process. 'On a Cold Whispering Night' is perfect for whispering in spooky tones whilst the onomatopoeic refrain of 'The Skeleton in the Basement' might need a louder, sharper voice!

An introduction is added for each poem, giving suggestions not only for performance, but also tips for creating poems along the lines of those given. 'It Woke Me From a Dream' uses a repeating line to create a creepy atmosphere and the note suggests creating a poem in the same style. 'The Grey Lady' is a poem which uses the senses to describe something scary - another fun thing to try!

Spooky Poems Aloud introduces children to a wonderful range of poetic styles and techniques - pantoum, villanelle, regna, tanka- enriching the reader's experience and understanding of the wonders of poetry, making this an invaluable resource for teachers and interested adults as well as children.

Full of appealing illustrations, Spooky Poems Aloud is sure to encourage a love of poetry in everyone!

40 pages / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher