For the past few years we have introduced a new category to the award shortlist to raise the profile of genres not usually recognised by the Award shortlist.
In the past we have had the following special categories;
- Books from a Series
- Community Libraries Favourite Book
- Teachers Favourite Book
- Quick Read
- Stan Lee - Manga/Graphic Novel
This year our Special category is Poetry and 3 fantastic books have been selected
The Monster Sale by Brian Moses
Monsters that moan and groan and wail, Buy your
monsters at the Monster Sale. Chickens who wear jumpers, all kinds of monsters,
a puppy's favourite chews (a lucky dip of forgotten socks), staying awake
waiting for your birthday, a bear in his underwear...
In his first collection for younger children,
well-known poet Brian Moses has provided a funny and witty snapshot of family
life, with a bit of fantasy added in.
Perfect for sharing at home or at school.
BRIAN MOSES has been a professional poet
since 1988. He spends half his time writing and the rest of the time he visits
schools across the UK and Europe, performing his poetry and percussion show.
His poetry books include Behind the Staffroom Door: The Very Best of Brian
Moses and A Cat Called Elvis. His solo collections and anthologies have sold
over 1 million copies and he is featured on e National Poetry Archive.
Brian lives in a small Sussex village with his wife, their loopy
labrador and a collection of bad-tempered chickens.
Here Come the Creatures! by Wes Magee
Funny, sad, silly, sing-along, the poems are about friends and families,
pets and creatures, school, space travel - and more. There is something for
everyone in this sparkling collection - with lots of action and joining in.
A brilliant and varied poetry collection suited to early years and key
stage one aged childen from this distinguished children's poet.
WES MAGEE was
born in Scotland, and worked as a teacher and head-teacher until he became a
full-time writer twenty years ago. He has published 100 books for children,
including poetry, picture books and storybooks. He regularly visits schools,
libraries and festivals across the UK and abroad, performing his poetry show .
He also runs training days for teachers, talks at educational conferences and
runs writing workshops. His best-known books are The Very Best of Wes Magee,
which won the Children's Poetry Bookshelf Award, The Boneyard Rap and The
Witch's Brew. He lives in Yorkshire.
John Hegerty - I Am A Poetato
From A-Z -
Alligator to The Dog Runs (Zoom) - John Hegley has a witty, surprising and
always entertaining poem for every letter. Wonderfully varied, there are poems
about people, pets and all kinds of other creatures. In each of them John
Hegley brings insights by highlighting particular characteristics. G is for
Guillemot, in which the poem gives a visual image of the precipitous world in
which the bird lives as well as describing its life; Christmas Caterpillar
surprises Santa while Quibble will set all readers on a circular and quibbling
conversation about exactly what is being described. A terrific anthology for
diving into again and again.
JOHN HEGLEY was born in north London and brought up
in Luton. He now lives in Islington. He started out as a stand-up
comedian/poet, performing his work on the festival and comedy circuit and he
became something of a cult performer from the early 80s onwards. He has
recently started to direct his writing and performances more towards children,
but generally his shows will delight all ages. He plays the ukulele as part of
his poetry performances. He is a Fellow of the English Association. John Hegley
lives in north London.
