Poems from a Green and Blue Planet

by Sabrina Mahfouz

The perfect gift for Christmas, this stunning collection of new and classic poems from around the world celebrating the diversity of life on our green and blue planet, to be shared with all the family. With new poems from Raymond Antrobus, Mona Arshi, Kate Tempest, Hollie McNish, Dean Atta, Sabrina Mahfouz and more.

Dive into this book and be swept away on a journey around our green and blue planet, from the peak of the snowiest mountaintop to the bottom of the deepest, bluest ocean. Meet the birds circling its skies, the beasts prowling its plains, and the people toiling in its fields and forests and cities... Explore all the worlds that make up our world, and hear the voices, past and present, that sing out from it. From haikus to sonnets, from rap to the Romantics, this joyous collection celebrates life in all corners of our beautiful planet.

Genres: Poetry

464 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2019

Reviews

[Tabitha]

Personally, I struggle to get into poetry and have in the past found it dull and unexciting. However, I like this anthology of poems because nature is so vast and exciting, and this anthology proves that inspiration can be found anywhere, as shown by the eight categories the poems are divided into: Sun Shines, Wind Blows, Water Flows, Earth Spins, Fire Leaps, Life Grows, Ice Chills and Moon Rises. There are poems from a wealth of poets spanning from modern to ancient, all writing in different styles. The poems are for readers of all ages, and are both long and short, simple and complex, rhyming and not.

A particular favourite of mine is Little Raindrops by Jane Euphemia Browne. It is written from the perspective of child who is stuck inside while it is raining when all they want to do is go outside and play. This is a feeling that every child can probably relate to at some point in their life and so is more appealing for children to read and could prompt plenty of discussion around the actions and feelings of the child in that moment. The writing style is easy to follow, in six verses of four lines each with lines 2 and 4 in each verse rhyming. This is writing style is one that is rather simple for a child to replicate due to the repetitive structure so could provide a good model for a poetry lesson. The poem is pleasing and easy to read, and would be fun to read aloud to a class as you could demonstrate the emotions being felt by the child through tone of voice, and the structure of the poem means that children would be able to follow along easily.

Another favourite of mine is De by Valerie Bloom. This is a very fun poem to read aloud due to the repetition of ‘de’ throughout the poem turns it into a bit of a tongue twister, and it also gives a clue as to the background of the poet:

“De snow, de sleet, de lack o’heat,
De wishy-washy sunlight,
De lip turn blue, de cold, ‘ACHOO!’
De runny nose, de frostbite,”

The rhyming pattern is the same as Little Raindrops which means that it would also be a good model for a creative writing lesson in terms of how the poem is structured, but the repeated use of the ‘de’ sound could also lead to some interesting discussions about phonics and word patterns, as well as prompt a discussion around what it suggests about the poet (Bloom was born in Jamaica and now lives in the UK).

[Fay Pretty]

And all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new.

Is that Shakespeare you ask? In ‘Poems from a green and blue planet’ you’ll find him sitting comfortably alongside Frost, Dickenson, Carroll, Bronte and many other well-known classic poets alongside more modern names, international poets and unknown proverbs.

I’m sure any reader will have a list that doesn’t end about the wonders of reading but one thing that stands out when reading this book is all the places that reading can take you. I feel like I’ve been taken back to nature. From Africa to Japan and from the mountains to the sea, there’s a small ache in me that feels sated and a desire to go travelling once again that feels sparked.

It's more than that though. These poems show our planet's history, voices from the past and present. Proverbs that everyone know, but no one knows where from, that come from superstition, folklore and culture. It’s a collective tale of our planet.

I can’t say I love everyone poem, but I wouldn’t expect to with such a diverse range of authors and topics. The book is separated into categories like ‘Sun Shines’ and ‘Moon Rises’. Each is beautifully decorated on the right page with flip note illustrations, relevant to each section, that grow and transform as you read on. Only in ‘Fire Leaps’ does the fire ‘leap’ at one point to the left-hand side. I still can’t decide if the fire moving is fun and clever or a bit annoying cramped in the corner of the left page, but I really enjoy the caterpillar in ‘Life Grows’ and I have a bit of a soft spot of this sort of thought out illustrations.

Overall, I highly recommend this collection. It made me so happy with a cup of tea in the garden, enjoying the morning or before bed listening to the rain. Hopefully, you’ll find some peace within its pages as well.

[Laura Brandon]

A beautiful collection of poems about the Earth, shedding a new light on just how much we should appreciate this Green and Blue Planet

[Alesa Bernat]

This collection of children's poetry has a diverse selection of famous historical poets and poems as well as proverbs, woven with modern poetry. The book is organized in natural themed sections based on weather and celestial bodies.