BOING! A Bouncy Book of Bugs

A top poet and illustrator combine to reveal the amazing world of bugs and minibeasts in this read-aloud collection of poems.

If it jiggles just a little
or its home is in the mud
or it wiggles down its middle …
oh indeed – it's a bug!

If it scuttles or it rustles
or it leaps upon a rug
or it bustles in a meadow …
yes siree – it is a bug!

Best-selling poet James Carter loves bugs. He has written many poems about them, and now here is a whole book devoted to bugs and minibeasts. Buzzing with energy and fun, it celebrates them in all their glorious bugliness – grasshoppers, moths, ladybirds, dung beetles, flies, wasps, even bedbugs get a look in, and finishes with the extraordinary tardigrades who can live in outer space. Many are shape poems – Carter's speciality – some are riddles, and all are perfectly matched by Neal Layton's bugtiful colour illustrations.

"Exuberant, energetic and engaging, Boing not only offers a collection of twenty-four poems about insects, but plenty of fascinating facts as well...The poems are fun, sure to engage and be enjoyed!"

"The rhythmic poems are perfectly pitched at young children, playfully using repetition, dialogue and familiar words to engage them. They are in a variety of forms – shape poems, rhyming couplets, acrostics, kennings, riddles and so on. There is information about each bug on every page, too, for slightly older children, or those who love facts.

This would be a great introduction to bugs and poetry, all in one fantastically fun book!"

"A collection that’s full of fun poems, sprinkled with facts, exuberantly illustrated and well worth adding to a classroom collection or home bookshelves. I’m sure if you start reading one or two aloud, there’ll be requests for ‘MORE PLEASE!’"

"Many of the poems here would make brilliant performance pieces for classes, individuals or pairs... the variety of poetic forms used is great for introducing young children to some of the different styles which can be used and might also be used as models to inspire their own writing... But above all, the poems are fun, sure to engage and be enjoyed!"

"With 24 poems, including shape poems, riddles, rhyming poems and free verse, plus amazing and informative facts about each bug or minibeast on every page, the world of insects is brought buzzing to life, matched by Neal Layton's bugtiful colour illustrations."

"A fidget of rhymes for the perfect minibeast adventure."

James Carter is a former lecturer in Creative Writing and Children's Literature at Reading University – now a world-travelling children's poet, giving performances with his melodica at festivals, workshops and in libraries and schools. His previous books for younger children are Zim Zam Zoom, illustrated by Nicola Colton, and A Ticket to Kalamazoo, illustrated by Neal Layton. He lives in Oxfordshire.

Neal Layton studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Newcastle University and Central St Martin's School of Art. His images are prized for their spontaneity and inventiveness. His picture books include The Tree, The Story of Stars, and A Planet Full of Plastic. He lives on the Isle of Wight.

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