John Agard

A towering figure in the children’s and YA poetry world, John Agard has chosen favourite poems from eight of his previously published collections: I Din Do Nuttin; Say it Again, Granny; No Hickory, No Dickory, No Dock; Laughter is an Egg; Grandfather's Old Bruk-a-Down Car; We Animals Would Like a Word With You; Come Back to Me My Boomerang, and Points of View With Professor Peekaboo. Over 80 poems are included, reflecting the genius of Agard through a range of poetic forms and styles and most of all his extraordinary ability to connect with children of all ages through poetry.

Funny, thought-provoking, and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up Wise Down is a lively conversation between two internationally known poets, illustrated by acclaimed artist Satoshi Kitamura. How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, esteemed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious, and wondrous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is forever and ever an adventure. Comprising more than seventy-five poems written in a call-and-response format, with each poem having a reply from the other poet, Wise Up Wise Down is sure to inspire all readers to find humor in every day.

Laughter is an eggwith a crick-crack facethat can hide in the heartof the human race.Crack up with John Agard’s hilarious and heartfelt poems about laughter. From scrambled jokes on toast to a crocodile's smile, this joyous collection of poems celebrates the laughter that lights up our lives, and is guaranteed to get you giggling. Full of Agard’s signature wit and playfulness, this eggstraordinary illustrated collection is a perfect way to introduce young readers to poetry.Discover Puffin Poetry, bringing timeless and treasured poetry collections to a new generation.

Celebrate the wonders of science, identity and the natural world with this collection of more than 100 poems by the acclaimed poet John Agard, author of Half-Caste. Jam-packed with beautiful interior illustrations, this anthology is perfect for budding poets, keen performers and those constantly curious children!This bumper collection comprises John Agard's previous works, together for the first time:Einstein, The Girl Who Hated Maths- From the mysterious power of the decimal point to the oddity of odd numbers, fun and wonder are the essence of these remarkable poems.Hello H2O - From water-vapour to robots and outer-space to water, this highly original collection explores everything exciting about science. Delighting in the wonder and oddities physics, biology and chemistry have to offer, these poems will bring out the scientist in you.The Rainmaker Danced - From nature and science to identity, prepare to be transported on a journey through past and present. This collection explores the wonders of the world - inviting your child to ponder life's questions with lots of fun along the way!John Agard is the winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, the Eleanor Farjeon Award, and most recently, the first poet to win The Booktrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

Creature-of-No-Words didn't know what to call being happy, or sad, or angry, or lonely--he just felt them. But then one day, he meets Creature-of-Words, who very soon helps him to fill in all the gaps...A collaboration between award-winning poet John Agard and internationally acclaimed illustrator Satoshi Kitamura is always a celebration of words and pictures. This powerful picture book about communication and friendship is a tour de force.

Funny, thought-provoking and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up! Wise Down! is a lively conversation between two internationally renowned poets, illustrated by treasured artist Satoshi Kitamura.How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, internationally acclaimed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious and wondrous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is a forever and ever adventure.Praise for Wise Up! Wise Down!“Curious minds will love the poems… Poetry at its most creative and versatile is what readers will discover in this most wonderous journey through words, ideas and pictures ~ on the page and in the mind.” Armadillo Magazine"A fun collection of poetry." Left on the Shelf"Three awesome creative people from children’s literature have collaborated on what is sure to become a favourite poetry book for many readers ... A terrific book." Red Reading Hub

A BEAUTIFULLY EVOCATIVE STORY OF A CHILD'S JOURNEY TO ENGLAND ON BOARD EMPIRE WINDRUSH, FROM AN INTERNATIONALLY CELEBRATED, MULTI-AWARD-WINNING POET AND AN EXTRAORDINARY DEBUT ILLUSTRATOR."you're stepping into historybringing your Caribbean eyeto another horizon"With one last hug, Windrush chid waves goodbye to his Caribbean home and sets sail across the ocean to Britain. In this powerful picture book, full of hope and promise, celebrated poet John Agard and illustrator Sophie Bass movingly evoke the journey made by children and their families as part of the Windrush Generation.PRAISE FOR JOHN AGARD'S WINDRUSH CHILD:Shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards 2023Shortlisted for the Spark! School Book Award 2023Longlisted for the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize 2023Longlisted for the 2023 Yoto Carnegie Medal for IllustrationLonglisted for the Children’s Literature Festivals Book Awards 2023Longlisted for the 2023 Klaus Flugge Prize"A gorgeous bedtime read that will reward repeat readings, deceptively simple, emotionally deep." Joseph Coelho, Children's Laureate"A beautiful picture book with gorgeous illustrations ... I couldn't think of a better way for young children to learn about history and understand the world." David Walliams“John Agard’s hopeful poem commemorates a child’s Windrush journey from the Caribbean, and bold and vivid illustrations sing of palm trees and mangos left behind, and new experiences, including pigeons and terraced houses and snow.” ‘One to Watch’, Sunday Times (Culture)"Debut illustrator Bass’s intricate, colourful, arresting pictures bring out all the resonances of Agard’s spare text in this story of a child, a ship, a journey, and a new life enriched by the loves and memories of the old." Guardian"A poetic story brought to life by Sophie Bass’s colour-popping illustrations." Daily Mail"A stunning picture book ... with the distinctive, vibrant art of Sophie Bass.” The Bookseller“The illustrations by Sophie Bass powerfully convey his parents’ emotions at different stages of the journey: hope, excitement, anxiety and relief are etched on to their faces in subtle ways. The child’s perspective of his adventure is the true soul of the book though and will stay in the reader’s memory for a long time.” Just Imagine

Internationally acclaimed poet John Agard recalls the journey made by the thousands of Caribbean children and their families who traveled to Britain between 1948 and 1971 as part of the Windrush generation. With one last hug, Windrush child says goodbye to his grandmother and the shores of his Caribbean home before embarking on an adventure across the ocean--under a sky full of promise--to an unknown horizon. With sensitivity and tender lyricism, world-renowned and multi-award-winning poet John Agard narrates the epic story of a child's voyage to England aboard Empire Windrush. Joyous illustrations by debut artist Sophie Bass richly evoke the changing landscapes and the uncertainty, courage, and hope of those who step into history--and travel far in search of home.

In the title story, Inspector Dreadlock Holmes and his sidekick Rudeyard Fly are sent for by the Criminal Investigation Department of Middleham-by-Sea - a little town known for tea shops, pet shops, and florists - in short, a rustic retreat for naughty weekends. Keen to kick-start their diversity policy, the Department sends for two Black cops who see this as a chance to prove their cross-cultural mettle and solve the brutal attack on Lord Montagu, a controversial political figure found unconscious with a courgette by his side. In other stories, an Anansi spider stows away on the Windrush, Cod and Chips are usurped by Chicken Tikka Marsala, and a white landscape gardener who admires Capability Brown has a mixed-race child, Cosmopolitan Brown, who is dispossessed by voices from history, including that of Martin Luther King. Surreal and playful, John Agard's stories reveal hidden truths that subtly change our view of who we are and where we come from.

The father of performance poetry, John Agard, brings you a collection of riotously funny poems. Follow that Word is a celebration of imagination and demonstrates the true diversity of language.A dazzling collection of over sixty poems, Follow That Word delivers John Agard's musings on people and places from the modern and historical world, this wonderful collection that can be rediscovered over and over again. With gorgeous black-and-white illustrations from Momoko Abe, Follow That Word takes you on a thought-provoking journey into the wonderful world of words, and this collection belongs on every bookshelf.'It's been around from Creation dawn,And it only takes two to catch on, Try it people, and you'll soon see,This is a dance that can set you free,It's called the dance of diversity.'Reviews for Half-caste, and Other Poems: 'Rollicking Caribbean-flavored rhythms combined with serious matters such as racism define poet extraordinaire, Agard.' - VoyaA performance poet, Agard uses his rhyme, repetition and refrains that make his work sing...Skilful use of humour to get his serious points across. - The Book Horn Inc

John Agard has been broadening the canvas of British poetry for the past 40 years with his mischievous, satirical fables which overturn all our expectations. His ninth Bloodaxe collection, Border Zone, explores a far-reaching canvas of British/Caribbean transatlantic connections, sweeping across centuries and continents. His border territory ranges from Love in a Sceptred Isle, a novella-like narrative poem of a romance between Barbados-born photographer, Victor, and Welsh librarian, Rhiannon, told with lyrical tenderness and thought-provoking wit, to Casanova the Philosopher, a sequence of sonnets in the voice of the legendary Venetian philosophically observing 18th-century English ways in a tongue-in-cheek memoir and travelogue. This is a diverse collection where the thought-provokingly mischievous, bawdy and elegiac rub shoulders alongside the sequence The Plants Are Staying Put – with the poet turning overnight lockdown gardener – as well as calypso poems, where the Guyana-born winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry puts on his hat as ‘poetsonian’, a term he coined in the 80s in tribute to the inventive lyrics of the calypsonian, a crucial strand of Agard’s varied, innovative, and often satirical poetic output.

A powerful picture book about communicating emotions and relating to fellow creatures, from an award-winning duo.

Excitement spreads like bush through the jungle. Earth-goddesses are planning a conference! From Australia to Antarctica, the Amazon to Africa, goddesses will debate the burning environmental issues of our times...and bushy-tailed, smooth-talking Coyote wants in on the action! Can this infamous trickster come up with a plan to infiltrate the conference and leave a lasting legacy for our planet? A rip-roaring poem by a master poet in celebration of Earth Day.

Books make good pets and don't need going to the vet.You don't have to keep them on a lead or throw them a stick.They'll wag their words whenever you flick their dog-eared pages.Even howl an ancient tale for the inward-listening ear.Did you know that a book can take you anywhere? You only need to turn the pages of a story, and in a moment, you and your book could be crossing the waves in a pirate ship... or diving with mermaids... or even snoozing with a dragon.Books really DO make good pets! Why don't you peep inside this one, and take your mind on an adventure?This delightful original picture book poem is the perfect gift for anyone who delights in the magic of a good book. Agard's evocative, lyrical style is perfectly complemented with illustrations by Momoko Abe, whose colourful visuals add character, transporting the reader into an enchanting world of imagination.

An uplifting and funny celebration of the magic of books by John Agard, winner of the Queens Gold Medal for Poetry.

John Agard has been broadening the canvas of British poetry for the past 40 years with his mischievous, satirical fables which overturn all our expectations. In The Coming of the Little Green Man, his eighth Bloodaxe collection, we enter a world of play and parable – in which the little green man stands for all pesky outsiders – in provocative poems charged with contemporary resonance. Which box should the little green man tick on the question of identity? Will the little green man survive as a minority of one in a multiracial London? What if the little green man volunteers to give blood to 21st-century humankind? Winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, he brings to bear his trademark trickster wit that bridges the metaphysical and the political, the comic and the poignant, the oral and the literary. His Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems (2009) was followed by Travel Light Travel Dark (2013) and Playing the Ghost of Maimonides (2016).

A warm and charming tale of diversity, language, and the shared cultures that make-up modern life. Shona has always loved words. She even has her very own strange word thesaurus! When her and her classmates learn that some languages are dying out, Miss Bates tasks them with becoming top-class word detectives, proving to themselves and their families that there are many beautiful languages still thriving, even within their own classroom. Particularly suitable for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 7.

A wonderful new anthology of poems by winner of the Queens Medal and the Eleanor Farjeon Award, 2016 Do trianglesever get into a tangle when their sides meet their angles?A wonderful new children's poetry collection, from a celebrated, award-winning poet.From nature and science to identity, prepare to be transported on a journey through past and present. This collection from John Agard, winner of the Queens Medal and the Eleanor Farjeon Award, explores the wonders of the world - inviting your child to ponder life's questions with lots of fun along the way!

A tender, moving and joyous story from one of our nation's premier poets, John AgardFrom above earth, from above sky,from below earth, from under water,come all you little personscome exactly as you are.Come little bird person, come little bee person, come little tree person - little persons from all over the world join together to celebrate the dance of life and love in this stunning poem from John Agard. Stunningly illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle, this is a book that both little persons and big persons will treasure and pore over for a lifetime, and is a true poem of our time.'A lyrical collaboration . . . a joyful, tender dance, celebrating people, places and the glory of existence.' Guardian'This book is a celebration of childhood and the natural world in all its rich diversity.' BookTrust