Welcome to my homepage! See news and updates here and through the blog. You can find out more about me (and my availability to come to a school or event), or get in touch through the pages to the right. All the best!
Swinging
Today the #poemoftheweek is from Let Me Touch the Sky, one of the titles now available to purchase on the site. A humorous reminder that getting what we want doesn’t always turn out well!
(The person enjoying a swing in today’s featured image really does look close to touching the sky! Captured in Ecuador by Nick Monica and accessed with thanks from unsplash.com.)
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Squirrel in winter
After a brief summer pause #poemoftheweek is back 🙂 Another animal poem from Jaws and Claws and Things with Wings this time, about someone who seems to be missing something…
(The cute little creature included in this post’s featured image was snapped in Berlin by Atakan Narman; image gratefully retrieved from unsplash.com.)
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Buy books direct!
Good news! The two titles republished by Valdo Books can now be bought directly from the website. Surprising Joy and Let Me Touch the Sky are now available for purchase via the site (or click on the titles in this post for a direct link).
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Last Night I Saw A Hedgehog
It’s time for #poemoftheweek! We’re going back to Jaws and Claws and Things with Wings today for another animal poem, this time about a hedgehog.
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Refuelling
The newest #poemoftheweek is read by Valerie herself. Before you listen, can you tell what the fruit in the featured image is?
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I Don’t Think Sheep Like Me
We have a young guest appearing in the latest #poemoftheweek; Valerie’s grandson joins in the reading of this one from Jaws and Claws and Things with Wings. Featured image by Sam Carter on Unsplash.
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The Wild Geese
Today’s #poemoftheweek is another one from Jaws and Claws and Things with Wings. Why are the geese on the move? Listen to find out! The featured image is again from the book’s illustrations by Matt Robertson.
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The Lion Lay Still in the Zoo
The latest #poemoftheweek is from Jaws and Claws and Things with Wings, a collection of animal poems. This one is a lovely poem to read aloud – you can almost picture the lion’s dreams as you read or listen. Featured image from the book’s colourful illustrations by Matt Robertson.
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Classroom activity – Autumn Gilt
Our next classroom activity is out! This time based on the poem Autumn Gilt, which is the first poem featured in the Let Me Touch the Sky collection. We actually featured this poem recently as a #PoemOfTheWeek, so as well as downloading the poem text and activity sheet below, you can also listen to an audio recording of it being read aloud.
The next resource in the pipeline will be a comparison activity for this poem and the one previously covered, Don’ Go Over There. Let us know how you found this one and keep an eye out for that instalment, coming soon!
Photo credit: we had a very nice featured photo for this poem already. But when we found Pedro Ferreira’s lovely image on Flickr.com accompanied by a copy of the poem, it felt fitting to use it! CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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Poetry tips…
Wanting to write your own poetry? In this week’s #poemoftheweek Valerie shares her top tips for writing and performing your own. What other advice would you add?
This poem was recorded several years ago for the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE).
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