Things You Find in a Poet's Beard

by A.F. Harrold, Chris Riddell (Illustrator)

Things You Find in a Poet's Beard is a collection of poems that have been shouted at children at schools, bookshops and festivals across the country. Perhaps you'll want to annoy your family by reading them out; perhaps you'll want to chuckle at them under the covers with a torch; perhaps you'll want to stare at the drawings drawn by Mr Chris Riddell; or maybe you'll want to stand up and shout them in assembly to capture the spirit of A.F. Harrold himself. (Printed using Dyslexie font - the typeface for readers with dyslexia.)

Genres: Poetry

108 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2015

About the author

A.F. Harrold is an English poet. He writes and performs for adults and children, in cabaret and in schools, in bars and in basements, in fields and indoors. He was Glastonbury Festival Website's Poet-In-Residence in 2008, and Poet-In-Residence at Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2010. He won the Cheltenham All Stars Slam Championship in 2007 and has had his work on BBC Radio 4, Radio 3 and BBC7. He is active in schools work, running workshops and slams and doing performances at ungodly hours of the morning, and has published several collections of poetry. He is the owner of many books, a handful of hats, a few good ideas and one beard

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this thanks to a recommendation by Chris Riddell over on Facebook/Twitter.
This is a cute little book with lots of poems by A.F. Harrold that get fleshed out by Chris Riddell's sketches.


Some of the poems are just absolutely silly. Others are funny. Others are rather sad. Some very deep and moving. Some are short, while others are long. And there is a poem about almost every topic you can imagine - Christmas, mothers, pirates, animals and trees and much more.
My favourites are A Menagerie Of Animals, Questions, Questions and The Taste Of A Biscuit.



All in all, a fun little book. Something new worth looking into (I usually read "older" poetry, classics).

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extract from: Postcards from the Hedgehog
Dear Mum,

Lovely weather today.
Just saw a really pretty girl.
Not sure how to approach her.
She makes me really shy
but just all warm inside.
I rolled up into a ball.
Wish you were here,

Love Simon

Living with an English teacher can certainly have its perk and introduces me to books that I would not have looked at otherwise.

This amusing collection of poetry by A.F. Harrold is lovingly illustrated by the former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell.

Aimed at older children and young teens, the poems ranges from the absurd to the surprisingly heartfelt. Obviously, as we foster African Pygmy Hedgehogs, the poem 'Postcards from the Hedgehog' jumped out. It is actually also featured in Chris Riddell's collection of poetry, Poems to Fall in Love With.

[Anna Gurevitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is up there, a modern day Edward Lear extravaganza.

Page after page of hilarity and divergent thinking skills (outside the box thinking) like, 'Jammy dodgers are not the only fruit.' The poems either rhyme or have rhythm or you can hear your younger self saying them like, 'I want to be a wallaby (or a kangaroo).'

This is an essential poetry book for all occasions. Got family or friends visiting? Get this book out. Visiting family or friends? Take this book. Need inspiration on how to be in a good mood? Grab this poetry book. Got to write a political speech? This book of poems will help guide you. Got an ofsted inspection? You know what to do. This is a poetry book for everyone, everywhere.

Also absolutely fabulous illustrations as you would expect from Chris Riddell.

[Alice magical library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading poetry books, and this book did not disappoint. Some poems were non-sensical and some rhymed, but there wasn’t a poem didn’t like. I used small sticky notes to keep track to use when I found a poem that I really loved, and I found that I was picking a sticky note up every single minute I was reading that book as it was so good. I would definitely recommend this book for any age.
Illustrated by: Chris Riddell

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mix of poems ranging from wonderfully silly to really quite serious topics.

Some favs were 'The Flavour of Night', 'Dreams', 'My Best Mate', 'Poetry and the Dragon', 'The Taste of a Biscuit' and 'Flowers'.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite was Poetry & The Dragon.

[Violet-May Davey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading all of the poems. Good use of time.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrold's collection takes us on a roller-coaster ride of emotions from downright silly to deeply moving. Accompanied by excellent illustrations by Chris Riddell this is a perfect read for KS2

[Ruqayyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great assortment of poems that I remember reading one summer's night.
My sister got this signed at school and I got to see the author for a total of two minutes.