What do you think?
Rate this book
Why Did My Brain Make Me Say It?
In this debut collection for children Sarah takes the reader on a vibrant journey based on her acute observations of everyday life and language. Loosely arranged across a school year - September through Halloween, Christmas, Spring, Summer holidays, a new school year/just before secondary - Sarah's witty observations, juxtapositions, and playful use of language pervade every poem and bring a vivid charm and freshness to every page.
80 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2024
10 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 16, 2025
Why Did My Brain Make Me Say It, by Sarah Ziman, is as vibrant as its cover - an addictive feast of poetry to sate both the hearts and minds of her young readers.
Yes, it's fine, rich poetry, yet it feels more like a series of chats, scenes, confessions, giggles, whispers, prayers – the communication of one child to another – you – on the topics that make their world. There's a dream scheme to live forever (told with a wink from the author, as often), a close friend who's moved away, a rival, a copycat, the pain of feeling left out, parental pressures... Life is not all roses for any child.
Yet there's also plenty of warmth, happiness and celebration: the delightful anticipation of a friend's arrival, the doting love of grandparents, each a 'Me-adorer', the joys that a disabled sibling brings to the family, the bracing thrill of a roller-coaster (metaphor for life?), presented in roller-coaster shape.
There are all sorts of eye-catching visual presentations through the book: every page looks invitingly different. There's even a poem – ingeniously crafted! – to read downwards and upwards for different viewpoints!
As for wit, word-fun and humorous twists, you'll need to read the whole book again (and again) to catch every slick linguistic titbit! In one quick glance as I write, I’ve scooped up this handful of delights – 'I sat my SATs', 'The weasel in my pop', and the lip-curling 'sieve the mixture through the jumper your gran made'.
Any doubts about poetry that a child may have before opening this fizzing collection will swiftly evaporate!
Highly recommended.
Yes, it's fine, rich poetry, yet it feels more like a series of chats, scenes, confessions, giggles, whispers, prayers – the communication of one child to another – you – on the topics that make their world. There's a dream scheme to live forever (told with a wink from the author, as often), a close friend who's moved away, a rival, a copycat, the pain of feeling left out, parental pressures... Life is not all roses for any child.
Yet there's also plenty of warmth, happiness and celebration: the delightful anticipation of a friend's arrival, the doting love of grandparents, each a 'Me-adorer', the joys that a disabled sibling brings to the family, the bracing thrill of a roller-coaster (metaphor for life?), presented in roller-coaster shape.
There are all sorts of eye-catching visual presentations through the book: every page looks invitingly different. There's even a poem – ingeniously crafted! – to read downwards and upwards for different viewpoints!
As for wit, word-fun and humorous twists, you'll need to read the whole book again (and again) to catch every slick linguistic titbit! In one quick glance as I write, I’ve scooped up this handful of delights – 'I sat my SATs', 'The weasel in my pop', and the lip-curling 'sieve the mixture through the jumper your gran made'.
Any doubts about poetry that a child may have before opening this fizzing collection will swiftly evaporate!
Highly recommended.
October 2, 2025
My whole family loves this book! My 10 yr old has read it cover to cover and still keeps dipping back in and insisting on reading poems out to us all. It's incredibly accessible, playful and funny and really deeply understands the things that kids are preoccupied and delighted by. I've also used it to inspire kids' creative writing groups to come up with their own poems and it was a huge success.
November 1, 2024
‘Why Did My Brain Make Me Say It?’ is brilliant. It has poems on everything from new shoes to Superman.
With haiku’s, acrostics, riddles, shape poems and performance pieces, it’s the perfect book to teach and inspire poetry. Children will relate to the fun rhymes about teachers, food and home life as well as poignant poems about pets, divorce and disability. All the poems are thoughtful and clever and stay with you long after reading them.
A classic poetry collection for every classroom and home.
With haiku’s, acrostics, riddles, shape poems and performance pieces, it’s the perfect book to teach and inspire poetry. Children will relate to the fun rhymes about teachers, food and home life as well as poignant poems about pets, divorce and disability. All the poems are thoughtful and clever and stay with you long after reading them.
A classic poetry collection for every classroom and home.
December 19, 2024
Brain-tickling cleverness and not a letter out of place
From the initial poem, ‘Hi-ku’, to the closing ‘Bye-ku’, this collection is cram packed with smart word play, attention to crafting, and keen observation. Those two poems stand like apt bookends either side of others that will intrigue and often move the reader. The intervening Lie-ku, introduces a more serious purpose for the form, but is no less playful, despite the sullen tone and sad implications. These poems, alone, indicate the mind of a poet who enjoys experimenting with verse form. ‘Poet Who Doesn’t Know It’ is a gift to every teacher introducing basic verse form and language categories. However, it isn’t heavy with forced learning, instead it’s an enjoyable mischief. Ziman also employs the power of white space and text variation to great effect. ‘Return Of the Swifts’ and ‘Nature Walk’ display this sensitivity well.
It takes real talent to convey something weighty in thought with a lightness of touch, as in ‘Opposites’, where 2 children are presented as different but are somehow still friends. Many poems are about everyday experiences that a huge number of children will identify with, particularly school concerns. She manages to stimulate the right questions in the reader without directing them by hinted conclusions. Some of the poems touch on deeper differences in a gentle way, and could lead to important classroom discussions. ‘Extra’ is a poem that has stayed with me, for its tender exploration of how an ‘extra chromosome’ can present joy, despite challenges.
Ziman’s collection is full of variety, yet the same voice unifies it all. Sometimes conversational, as in ‘Secret Weapon’, sometimes lyrical, as in the beautiful ‘Winter Solstice’, there’s a perfect mix of a little wildness with calm thinking. Alongside, there are puzzles and text pictures to delight in. Having enjoyed her individual poems in the past, I knew this collection would be of high quality, but I think more has been achieved here, I think Sarah Ziman has ensured that there will be more collections, and that they will stand tall with the collections of long-established poets.
From the initial poem, ‘Hi-ku’, to the closing ‘Bye-ku’, this collection is cram packed with smart word play, attention to crafting, and keen observation. Those two poems stand like apt bookends either side of others that will intrigue and often move the reader. The intervening Lie-ku, introduces a more serious purpose for the form, but is no less playful, despite the sullen tone and sad implications. These poems, alone, indicate the mind of a poet who enjoys experimenting with verse form. ‘Poet Who Doesn’t Know It’ is a gift to every teacher introducing basic verse form and language categories. However, it isn’t heavy with forced learning, instead it’s an enjoyable mischief. Ziman also employs the power of white space and text variation to great effect. ‘Return Of the Swifts’ and ‘Nature Walk’ display this sensitivity well.
It takes real talent to convey something weighty in thought with a lightness of touch, as in ‘Opposites’, where 2 children are presented as different but are somehow still friends. Many poems are about everyday experiences that a huge number of children will identify with, particularly school concerns. She manages to stimulate the right questions in the reader without directing them by hinted conclusions. Some of the poems touch on deeper differences in a gentle way, and could lead to important classroom discussions. ‘Extra’ is a poem that has stayed with me, for its tender exploration of how an ‘extra chromosome’ can present joy, despite challenges.
Ziman’s collection is full of variety, yet the same voice unifies it all. Sometimes conversational, as in ‘Secret Weapon’, sometimes lyrical, as in the beautiful ‘Winter Solstice’, there’s a perfect mix of a little wildness with calm thinking. Alongside, there are puzzles and text pictures to delight in. Having enjoyed her individual poems in the past, I knew this collection would be of high quality, but I think more has been achieved here, I think Sarah Ziman has ensured that there will be more collections, and that they will stand tall with the collections of long-established poets.
October 9, 2024
Masterfully written and aesthetically presented!
If your child is looking for something humorous, uplifting, and entertaining, then this book is definitely for them. It’s perfect for switching off and unwinding with after a long day at school.
I’ve always enjoyed poetry, and this book is filled with some of the cutest, funniest, and most charming poems I’ve ever come across. But it’s not just the words themselves that light up the pages. The poems are presented in such a visually stimulating way that they come to life and dance in front of your eyes, adding a whole new dimension to the words.
Sarah Ziman is a master of poetry and a magician when it comes to getting words down on paper! I hope she’ll be writing many more collections like this one. And my favourite poem? Well, that would have to be ‘Reasons my little sister cried this week’. Or maybe ‘Packed Lunch’… or ‘Faux Pas’ … ooh, or ‘One-upper’… although ‘Pet Peeve’ is brilliant, too. Okay, I can’t pick a favourite. They’re ALL simply delightful.
A must-have poetry collection for children, to be read time and time again.
If your child is looking for something humorous, uplifting, and entertaining, then this book is definitely for them. It’s perfect for switching off and unwinding with after a long day at school.
I’ve always enjoyed poetry, and this book is filled with some of the cutest, funniest, and most charming poems I’ve ever come across. But it’s not just the words themselves that light up the pages. The poems are presented in such a visually stimulating way that they come to life and dance in front of your eyes, adding a whole new dimension to the words.
Sarah Ziman is a master of poetry and a magician when it comes to getting words down on paper! I hope she’ll be writing many more collections like this one. And my favourite poem? Well, that would have to be ‘Reasons my little sister cried this week’. Or maybe ‘Packed Lunch’… or ‘Faux Pas’ … ooh, or ‘One-upper’… although ‘Pet Peeve’ is brilliant, too. Okay, I can’t pick a favourite. They’re ALL simply delightful.
A must-have poetry collection for children, to be read time and time again.
June 6, 2025
Brains are weird! The title of this poetry collection refers to that awkward moment when you call your teacher ‘mum’ by mistake, but this book also demonstrates that brains are amazing in the way they can explore and experiment with language.
Many of Sarah Ziman’s poems are playing with words. From the increasingly muddled ‘Packed Lunch’ to riddles, misunderstandings, poems that can be read forward and backwards, and puzzle poems. Despite the whimsical tone, there are plenty of moments of sincere emotion - she beautifully captures the difficulties of navigating friendships at school, from the wonderful positive experiences in ‘Opposites’ and ‘Anticipation’ to the negative interactions we can all relate to in ‘One-Upper’ and ‘Copycat’. I also loved the inclusion of Welsh language, from the experience of learning Welsh as the new girl at school to ‘Tadcu’s Lemons’ - an entirely translated poem.
This book is endorsed by Brian Bilston and exhibits the same kind of fresh approach to form and content. A playful, profound and authentic collection of poems - perfect for primary schools.
Many of Sarah Ziman’s poems are playing with words. From the increasingly muddled ‘Packed Lunch’ to riddles, misunderstandings, poems that can be read forward and backwards, and puzzle poems. Despite the whimsical tone, there are plenty of moments of sincere emotion - she beautifully captures the difficulties of navigating friendships at school, from the wonderful positive experiences in ‘Opposites’ and ‘Anticipation’ to the negative interactions we can all relate to in ‘One-Upper’ and ‘Copycat’. I also loved the inclusion of Welsh language, from the experience of learning Welsh as the new girl at school to ‘Tadcu’s Lemons’ - an entirely translated poem.
This book is endorsed by Brian Bilston and exhibits the same kind of fresh approach to form and content. A playful, profound and authentic collection of poems - perfect for primary schools.
May 28, 2025
This collection of poems by Sarah Ziman is a smorgasbord of deliciously witty, entertaining, clever poems that cannot fail to whet children's appetites for poetry. The poems play with words, are riddling, quirky, sometimes silly but also many have emotional depth and resonance. Many are rooted in children's everyday lives and experiences, speaking to children's thoughts, feelings and emotional lives. The sheer exuberance and range of the poems make this an essential poetry book for any KS2 classroom, as well as a great book for parents to buy for their children, to introduce them to the pleasures of poetry. Highly recommended.
September 26, 2025
The next time I meet a kid who is skeptical about poetry, this is the book I want to hand to them. The characters are in these poems are silly, sweet, annoying, perceptive, sad, lonely, worried, obnoxious, and exuberant — just like real kids. It feels like Sarah has watched kids interact with their classmates, siblings, teachers, parents, and grandparents and then jotted down what she's seen in the form of poems.
From the wildly creative Packed Lunch to the quietly beautiful Winter Solstice, this book is packed with treats to be enjoyed over and over. Sarah makes writing children's poetry look easy — which is a sign that she's a master.
From the wildly creative Packed Lunch to the quietly beautiful Winter Solstice, this book is packed with treats to be enjoyed over and over. Sarah makes writing children's poetry look easy — which is a sign that she's a master.
June 1, 2025
Sounds very ignorant, but I wouldn't have predicted that a poetry anthology would be a thing me and my daughter would bond over. This was really special though. The poems are so smart and funny, and there's a brilliant mix of bits that hit home emotionally, and clever tricks with language and grammar that were genuinely good fun to work out with her. Her favourite was 'Reasons my little sister cried this week', (although her older brother would probably say it was his favourite too) and 'Love/Hate'. I liked pretty much all of them, but 'Lie-ku' got me thinking over it for days afterwards.
June 22, 2025
I love this collection of poems by Sarah Ziman!
I giggled out loud, gasped at their cleverness and nodded along in recognition. From poems about the anticipation of having a friend over for tea, the loss of a pet or a friend who has moved away, the year 6 leavers’ assembly to the joy of blu tac in your pocket, this collection of poems is perfect for enthusing primary school children with the possibilities of poetry.
I giggled out loud, gasped at their cleverness and nodded along in recognition. From poems about the anticipation of having a friend over for tea, the loss of a pet or a friend who has moved away, the year 6 leavers’ assembly to the joy of blu tac in your pocket, this collection of poems is perfect for enthusing primary school children with the possibilities of poetry.
November 2, 2024
Endorsed by the brilliant Brian Bilston, this wonderfully clever and entertaining poetry collection is suitable for top junior and lower secondary school students and all those adults who are still part child at heart. My personal favourites were the poems with a Welsh connection and those that took the form of a quiz or riddle. Lovely stuff!
May 17, 2025
This gorgeous collection of inclusive, accessible poems has something for every child.
Some rhyme, some don't
Some make you laugh, others won't.
Some are quirky, some will make you cry
Some will inspire you to give poetry a try!
(Haha, I'm not giving up the day job any time soon, Sarah!)
Some rhyme, some don't
Some make you laugh, others won't.
Some are quirky, some will make you cry
Some will inspire you to give poetry a try!
(Haha, I'm not giving up the day job any time soon, Sarah!)
June 20, 2025
I bought this for my niece (aged 7) who read it and said it was very good! It didn’t have many rhyming poems but that wasn’t a problem for her - it inspired her to write some poems of her own and made her want to be a ‘poem writer’ when she grows up!
September 22, 2025
A brilliant book - inspired and inspiring. Humorous insights on family, school, friends, life.
Accessible to all kids, I loved this collection by poet and author Sarah Ziman and cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Delighted to see it listed for awards - truly deserving!
Accessible to all kids, I loved this collection by poet and author Sarah Ziman and cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Delighted to see it listed for awards - truly deserving!
October 12, 2024
A smart and clever poetry book from a smart and clever poet! Plenty or word play, humour and poems to leave you thinking too. Recommended.
November 11, 2024
I loved this collection of poems. It's so much fun to read, so cleverly written. I honestly can't recommend this enough to anyone who wants to have a smile put on their face.
July 13, 2025
I loved this poetry book for children. Sarah is a wonderful wordsmith and her poems zing on the page! Witty and wonderful wordplay that adults will appreciate as well as children!
January 14, 2025
What a witty and insightful poetry collection! My daughter can't get enough of Ziman's clever writing and is amazed by how well she captures the experience of being a kid. It's impossible to pick a favorite poem from the collection, but How to Live Forever is one we read on repeat. Absolutely delightful!
February 3, 2025
A brilliant collection - observing and celebrating the hidden corners of life with insight, humour and taut lyricism. I love the snapshots we get as we romp through these poems - friendships, classrooms, haircuts, screen time, connectiveness, family, food… For sheer pleasure in reading this book is wonderful - and important.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews