All the Frogs (Children's Poetry Library) - Softcover

Mole, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844717550 ISBN 13: 9781844717552

Publisher: Salt Publishing, 2010

Synopsis

All the Frogs collects together the poems John Mole has written for children since the publication of This is the Blackbird which was shortlisted for the CLPE Award. As in his previous collections, he conveys the mystery, humour and sometimes pain to be experienced in everyday situations, and relishes the free play of rhythm and rhyme. Several of the poems here call out to be read aloud while others are more suited to quiet moments of thought. John Mole writes for children in the playground and for the solitary child in his or her private space. Charles Causley described an earlier collection as 'the work of a true poet' and the same can surely be said of All the Frogs.

About this title

About the Author:

John Mole (b. 1941) taught for many years in this country and the USA before becoming a freelance writer and occasional jazz musician. As a poet for children he continues to give readings and run workshops in schools and libraries, and his work is represented in many anthologies. Reviewing his work in the Times Educational Supplement, Gillian Clarke wrote: 'He's one of the best, and already has many fans.'

Review:

John Mole ranks with the finest of his contemporaries; poets such as Causley. Ted Hughes and Christopher Reid ... Mole's reader, for whose pleasure he writes - and never down - is the young person who understands, or - sometimes - nearly understands.--Robert Hull "Books for Keeps "

He is one of the best and already has many fans.--Gillian Clarke "Times Educational Supplement "

A new John Mole collection is good news.--Anne Harvey "The Guardian "

John Mole's poems for children are simply good poems which are accessible.--Mary Sullivan "The Guardian "

Great control and a variety of shapes and forms. Mole moves from the sharply comic to the evocative, and is good, as a poet should be, in suggesting things happening off the page.--Matthew Sweeney "The Sunday Telegraph "

Here now is another set of luminous and well-judged poems, never a phrase too many, never one short, demonstrating that there is infinitely more to the good poem than the number of words lying on the page. John Mole loves language, uses it with subtlety and skill, and is quite unafraid of making demands on his young audience. The effect, quietly engineered, is always arresting, often surprising. The pictures they paint, the sentiments they express, seem to dissolve and reassemble before one's eyes as if by some process of magic. The work of a true poet.--Charles Causley "Times Educational Supplement "

In numerous courses, informal talks to teachers, and in readings to children, I don't think I've recommended any poet more often than John Mole in recent years.--Stephen Bicknell "Signal "

It is always been one of Mole's strengths, as he exploits the two-way traffic between both.--Gavin Ewart "Times Literary Supplement "

About this edition

• Publisher: Salt Publishing
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1844717550
• ISBN 13: 9781844717552
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Norman Mary