SuitabookZim Zam Zoom
James Carter
- Reading
- Begin with one poem and read it aloud together. Let the child choose whether to perform, move, draw or simply listen; pause to explore the illustrations and return to favourites when desired.
- Themes
- Playful participation and performance: The sixteen poems are written for reading aloud and performance, with invitations to zoom around, draw monsters, wiggle ears and make funny faces. The book presents poetry as something active and shared, using sound, movement and humour as routes into participation.
- Imagination and varied imagery: The poems include fizzing fireworks, fabulous food, dragons with smelly breath, sploshy puddles and other imaginative subjects. The collection uses varied, playful imagery to support imaginative exploration rather than presenting a single sustained narrative.
- Mildly scary comic imagery: The collection is said to include poems that are a tiny bit scary, alongside funny, exciting and adventurous poems. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Worth knowing
- A small number of poems are described as slightly scary, alongside exciting, action-packed and adventurous material. Dragons with smelly breath, fireworks and creepy monsters may be worth noticing if a child is sensitive to such imagery.