Sea Dream : Poems from Under the Waves - Hardcover

Nikki Siegen-Smith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1841489042 ISBN 13: 9781841489049

Publisher: Barefoot Books, 2002

Synopsis

I wake to coral blossom and sleep in a star-clad cave; my bed is a glad of ribboned jade, my sky a wave. - Judith Nicholls; Hitch a lift with a group of barnacles on a whale's broad back and watch seahorses canter through fields of coral. If you have ever marvelled at the strange creatures hiding amongst the shadows of a rock pool or scooped up shining shells and pebbles from the water's edge, you will relish this anthology of fantastic poems, which includes work by Jack Prelutsky, Mervyn Peake and many more.

About this title

About the Author

Nikki Siegen-Smith's background in education and linguistics makes her ideally placed to compile this anthology. Having studied English Literature and Linguistics at the University of East Anglia, she has built an impressive career in primary education and now works as a literacy consultant in the South-West. Nikki has compiled four other anthologies for Barefoot Books: Welcome to the World (1994), The Barefoot Book of Songs for Survival (1995), A Pocketful of Stars (1999) and more recently First Morning: Poems About Time (2001). Joel Stewart was born in Yorkshire and graduated last year with a first class Bachelor of Arts degree from Falmouth College of Art. He has illustrated several books and won a number of awards. Joel works in a variety of media with the emphasis always on gentle humour and simple, expressive draughtsmanship. When not drawing he makes puppets and plays the accordion. He currently lives in Cornwall.

From Booklist

Reviewed with The Drowsy Hours, edited by Susan Pearson.

Gr. 2-5. Striking illustrations, appealing themes, and well-chosen works by familiar poets distinguish these two collections. Sea Dream also celebrates a subject with action-packed poems by well-known authors. Facts about sea creatures are embedded in the bouncy, rhymed verses, as are some wonderfully fresh perspectives on the underwater world: Spike Mulligan's sardines describe a submarine as a "tin full of people." Subtly detailed watercolor-and-ink illustrations with subtle details capture the whimsy and whirl of the text. Drowsy Hours suggests quiet coziness, but many selections are packed with action and the thrill of nighttime--like the galloping rider in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Windy Nights." Even sleepier selections, such as Norma Farber's "Manhattan Lullaby," are not entirely quiet: "let these city girls and boys / dream a music in the noise." But the lulling rhythm and rhyme, and the nearly hypnotic sounds in the language echo the poems' deep sense of mystery, while Malone's richly colored paintings approximate the slightly surreal imagery and perspectives of dreams. Both titles offer nicely illustrated, classic selections that will attract children with the sounds as much as the sense in their words. For both classroom and bedtime reads. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Barefoot Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1841489042
• ISBN 13: 9781841489049
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 40