Funky Chickens

by Benjamin Zephaniah

A second irreverent collection of poetry for children touching on anything from vegetables to the Queen and from sewage to the sun. There's plenty of humour as well as poems on racism, pollution and the murder of a cat.

Genres: Poetry, Young Adult, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

A British-Jamaican writer, dub poet and Rastafari. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.

Reviews

[Hollie Abbott]

I read this book when I was 10 years old and loved it . I loved the use of language and how the many ways it could be performed . I enjoyed that it was different in a way I had been taught how I should write a poem when I was 10 . It was creative and opened up a different style of poetry to me. Children should be exposed to many different styles, language and culture in reading.

[Sarah Sammis]

The poems are emotional: sometimes funny and sometimes heart-wrenching. They cover a number of themes of city life. Collectively they remind me of Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans (2021).

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2021/comm...

[Itch Iseatingnandos]

Zephania’s use of deceptively simple rhymes and a limited word palate communicate ideas much larger than they appear. Solid and worth reading aloud.

[Jeremy Williams]

Our favourites were: Hip Hop Cop, and Pencil Me In

[Tom Lawrence]

A mini-anthology of varied poems, which are often a little non-sensical but children seem to love them. Read aloud they are very jovial, and the poems include numerous different forms and non-standard structures. I would say this book is better for younger children, but it is a good introduction to poetry for those children who view the form as a little boring and stuffy.
There's lots of neologisms and colloquialisms for children to be drawn in by, and for all its outward silliness, some of the themes dealt with require more serious consideration. I think of it as a good poetry to dip in-and-out of, and great for reading out-loud.

[Adam Kidd]

Definitely aimed for a younger audience. A lot of it is light, silly and entertaining, but it has its more profound moments too, embedded within. It's good, but not one I'll be returning to often, I don't think.

[Ali]

I just love this so much

[Jacob Few]

Funky Chickens is an exciting way to get children interested in poetry. provided a different style of classic poetry, Benjamin Zephaniah gives a different spin on expectations of poetry seen in school. quirky and comical poetry can be found in a variety of different styles. the majority of the poems are snappy and can be read with real power. Poems are embedded within longer more thought provoking stories and poems. Zephaniah includes many visual elements to his poems allowing the reader to really experience a different style of poetry they may be familiar to with poems such as EPIC and double talk adding to the extensive list of different and exciting new flavors of poetry.

[Elisa]

Very nostalgic reading this anthology

[Aimée Bell]

A nice short compilation of interesting poems covering lots of different themes. Some made no sense but others were very touching and thought provoking. 3 stars!

[Nynke]

Had slightly more fun with the Talking Turkeys at christmas, but this was still great.

[Sarah Dunsbee]

Only ten reviews and less than one hundred ratings...amazing ,it's so good.
I don't like most modern stuff in poetry but these have rhyme,music, and either a very serious but lightly done topic or just pure fun.
Was very pleasantly surprised by this book, the audio book is even better,as so well read.
Think people of all ages should be made cheerful and thoughtful by it.