SuitabookWho Let the Words Out?
Joshua Seigal
- Reading
- Try a few poems aloud, inviting the child to notice sound, rhythm, wordplay and unfamiliar terms. Leave the sadder pieces for a later moment, and let discussion follow the child’s response.
- Themes
- Playful language and poetic form: The collection foregrounds words, puns, idioms and unfamiliar vocabulary, using forms including haiku, couplets and shape poems. Language is presented as something to explore and play with, with poems designed for sound, surprise and performance.
- Humour alongside difficult feelings: Funny poems about animals, school and everyday situations sit alongside poems about absence, grief and sadder emotional experiences. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- School grouping and separation: ‘The Orange Table’ depicts a child describing being separated from others after being regarded as less capable academically. The situation is present, but the available extract does not show whether the poem challenges, accepts or transforms the grouping.
- Worth knowing
- Some poems concern school experiences, including being separated from classmates considered less able; other poems touch on absence and grief. The overall collection is not exclusively light-hearted.