Poetry Prompts: All sorts of ways to start a poem from Joseph Coelho

by Joseph Coelho, Georgie Birkett (Illustrator), Amanda Quartey (Illustrator)

A compendium of poetry prompts from Joseph Coelho (Children's Laureate 2022-2024).

Each fun and engaging prompt for writing a poem helps children discover how to write poems and then read them out loud . This is a book to build confidence and literacy skills through channeling children's imaginations. 

This is a book for the whole family to enjoy, bright, cheerful but cool illustrations will appeal to children of all primary ages.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Writing

64 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 2023

About the author

Joseph Coelho is a British poet and children's book author who was elected Children's Laureate in 2022.

Reviews

[Christina Valastro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book with easy, manageable prompts for poetry beginners! Great for adults too... there's even a tutorial for making your own little book from a sheet of paper!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Coelho's Poetry Prompts: All sorts of ways to start a poem is an engaging collection of poetry prompts tailored towards children who are 6-8 years old. Poetry Prompts provides an avenue to introduce or build upon existing poetry knowledge in an enjoyable and effective way. The book contains a series of 41 prompts featuring various topics including similes, emotions, haikus, holidays, and more. Each poetry prompt includes a "Poetry-Powered-up" prompt to take a child's imagination and writing skills even further. Coelho, an award-winning playwright, performance poet, and children's author, organized the progression of the book in such a way that children build upon their poetry skills as work their way from cover to cover. The illustrations by Georgie Birkett, Grasya Oliyko, Amanda Quartey, and Viola Wong are whimsical, fun, and the perfect compliment to this amazing compilation of poetry prompts. This book would be a fantastic addition to any library - home, school, and beyond.

Kind thanks to Joseph Coelho, Quatro Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions, and NetGalley for an advance reading copy of this beautiful book.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and colourful early poetry-writing guide, from someone who really is insistent on getting as many titles out under his Laureate-ship, and nobody should blame him. This has the standard prompts, it seemed to me, to get young authors thinking about verse and trying it out, with many simple ideas, that often get power-ups to add just a further level of complexity or maturity. Some of the things are rather pointless when done – animals having wrong noises to make just ends up a list poem with no real purpose, I felt – but some of the results are bound to be worthwhile.

And there is of course an undeniable benefit in this age group just trying to write anything – having a pen in their hand will help in ways unseen and untold, so works of genius are not necessary as a result. These pages are brightly illustrated, don't overburden anyone with terms whatsoever, and just have the gentle, encouraging feel, with examples that are not out of this world, meaning the wish to join in and give everything a go will be high. Very much commended.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry prompts does what it says in the title! It is no secret that I love everything that Joseph Coelho does and this one, once again did not disappoint!
The book is a helpful guide teaching children different strategies to approaching their creativity and poetry writing. It starts with instructions about writing a poetry journal which is followed up by 41 child friendly poems. Each poem in the book has helpful hints to help the reader write their own poetry.

The illustrations compliment the book perfectly. A fun book for aspiring poets!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This illustrated children's book features a variety of different poems and ideas for how to write your own poems in different styles. The author clearly explains a variety of different technique and shares his own examples, but I found some of the pages rather cluttered, and many of the poems didn't appeal to me. Regardless of my personal taste, this will appeal to many kids who are interested in poetry, and will be a helpful educational tool.

I received a temporary digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Robin Pelletier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful! It is filled with poetry prompts for kids. The illustrations are marvelous and whimsical. There's a wide variety of prompts and I even learned some new poetry styles. I love that some of the poems had a powered up option to challenge young writers In a positive way. I plan to use this book in my classroom to challenge my students to write more poetry in their free time! I think this book would be a welcome edition in any classroom at any age (although, some of the poems are complicated and would be a 10+ rating).

[Ansley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love love love the poetry invitations in this book! We've used a number of different books to help us write poems, but this book offers really accessible prompts for a very wide range of ages, and many are not just suggestions for different poetry forms to use, but concrete suggestions.
The book did make some cultural assumptions about the reader, so I took one star off for that, but otherwise language was very inclusive.

[Bzz Kolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this eCopy to review

What a beautiful book we loved the illustrations which really brought Joseph's poems and information to life. All the prompts were easy to understand and explained different types of poems or techniques in a way which is easy to understand and have a go at yourself

It was great fun to read and we are enjoying having a go ourselves, definitely something that can be used time and time again

[Kayla Ngai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read "Poetry Prompts" as an ARC off NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The book is lovely and helpful to teach young kids different strategies to approach writing poetry and find creativity. It is a cool idea to add a "power-up" section where each poetry prompt comes with an additional challenge to make the prompt more interesting. Also, I loved the illustrations and how colorful they were. All in all, the book was easy to understand as it aptly caters to the targeted audience.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you could only pick one poetry prompts/writing book for kids, this is it! This book includes forty-one writing prompts from Whispering Poems to Simile Hunts, Diminuendo Poems to Found Poems, Photo Poetry, Dance Poetry, Writing on Rocks, Black Out Poems, and Bug Poems. You'll find something for every kid (and adult) here. Enjoy!

Themes: poetry prompts, writing
Ages: toddler - all ages
Pub year: 2023

[Lisa Gisèle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A wonderful how to write fun poems in unique ways. I think these methods will be fun to write and use as a great introduction to poetry. I am going to share this title with others for sure.

[Elizabeth Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a high school English teacher. I checked this book out for ideas to use in my high school creative writing class. Although these poems are for much younger children, there's great examples. There are also beautiful images and ideas. This book would be perfect for young poets or for kids interested in writing poems.

[Erica Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting and thought-provoking. This book is a great resource for inspiring young readers to try their hands at poetry. It contains many fun and creative writing prompts—turning writing into a game.

A great book for the home library and a valuable resource for educators.

[Sarah S. Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so impressed with all of Coelho's books -- they are perfect for leading small groups of kids in writing and poetry appreciation. This book covers a wide variety of prompts, is jam-packed with interesting information, and has delightfully vibrant illustrations.

[Rachna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very sweet and a definite keeper. We are enjoying doing activities with kids. Book is very good to introduce and spark joy of poetry in kids. Bonus - you can also enjoy youtube videos by author on these poerty prompts on his youtube channel!

[Johannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cool book! Would be awesome to use in a poetry unit or for a literacy appreciation day! Much more of a resource to guide students with, rather than just handing it to a kid.

So many cool ideas!

[Eric Rosswood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun, fast-paced book that will inspire your creativity.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned/the content of this book made me feel…

Informed! Loving the example based descriptions and brilliant for ideas for anyone wanting to be creative but not knowing where to start…

[Misse Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice poetry prompts for kids!

Poetry Prompts is a really good illustrated resource guide for children of all ages who may be interested or have began writing poetry. It is full with prompts of all types to engage children with writing and reading poetry aloud. The illustrations were great too! This would have been a book I would have relished growing up because poetry until adulthood always felt overwhelming to me. Too big and too complex was what I'd always think. I'm glad to see books like this written. Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the gifted copy.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coelho encourages youth to create their own fun poetry booklets. In addition to the creative poetry prompts (some with seasonal and holiday themes), poetry power ups are included for an additional challenge to young poets.