Author Archives: australianchildrenspoetry

Croc-o-diner by Celia Berrell

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Croc-o-diner

The crocodile has every right

to fall in love or have a fight.

He likes his home.  He wants to stay

and have a feed and sleep and play.

 

But better not get in his way

or YOU won’t see another day!

 

So when you travel our great land

respect this resident so grand

and DON’T go swimming where he hides

among the rivers, banks and tides.

 

It’s not HIS fault that tourists may

taste just like croccy’s take-away!

Celia Berrell

Celia said: My husband is considering working in a remote coastal location in Far North Queensland where it is possible to find crocodiles lurking under the buildings.  To all the people who work up there, PLEASE be careful and keep yourselves off their dinner menu!

Poetry Pointers by Stephen Whiteside

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  1. Try to write every day. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike.

 

  1. Play to your strengths. If you prefer to write in rhyme, do so. If not, don’t. It doesn’t matter whether a poem rhymes or not.

 

  1. Having said that, it is also important to push yourself out of your comfort zone from time to time.

 

  1. Don’t write to a formula. If your writing interests you, it will probably interest other people. If it bores you, it will probably bore others.

 

  1. Don’t take rejection personally. Remember, it is only your poem that is being rejected, not you.

 

  1. Talent is overrated. Persistence is much more important.

 

  1. Know the markets. Write with the markets in mind.

 

  1. Having said that, don’t write with the markets in mind all the time. It is important to have fun with your poetry, and take risks. Try not to get too serious about it all.

 

  1. If you’re stuck for an idea, choose something small and insignificant to start with, and build from there.

 

  1. Celebrate your mistakes. They are evidence of your productivity. Remember, the most mistakes are made by the most successful people.

 

Thanks to Stephen Whiteside for these excellent tips on writing poetry. Stephen’s collection of rhyming verse for children, ‘The Billy That Died With Its Boots On’ and Other Australian Verse, was published by Walker Books in 2014. In 2015, the book won a “Golden Gumleaf” award for “Book of the Year” at the Australian Bush Laureate Awards during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Visit his website for more details.

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

The Feely Bag by Lynette Oxley

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The Feely Bag

 

What’s inside the feely bag?

Please tell us what you feel.

 

A slimy, slippery frog perhaps,

That makes you squirm and reel.

 

A ragged, worn-out kitchen sponge,

That’s squelchy, smelly, wet.

 

Or Cody’s wriggly garden worms,

The biggest he could get.

 

Do bristles scrape your fingertips,

When lifting something up?

 

Is it a nailbrush, Stickle Brick,

Some Velcro in a cup?

 

It may be soft with rubber wings,

And live inside a cave.

 

A tingly touch might make you scared

To guess you must be brave.

 

Lynette Oxley

Lynette said: I wrote about preschool children who are willing to put their hands in a Feely Bag and guess what the contents might be. This activity promotes language development.

 

 

 

 

 

Montague Shoe by James Aitchison

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Montague Shoe

 

Have you heard the story of Montague Shoe?

He fitted a left foot — ’twas all he could do.

 

But the shoe that fitted the right foot was lost,

So into the trashcan poor Monty was tossed.

 

But there in the trash Montague found

A shoe for a right foot — ’twas perfectly sound.

 

They became a new pair, one black and one blue,

And that was the story of Montague Shoe.

 

James Aitchison

What is Red? by Karen Hendriks

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What is Red?

 

I strolled in the woods,

Wearing a red hood.

Looking cool in the neighbourhood.

 

 

I knock, knocked at Granny’s door.

I heard a terrible snore.

Just like a dinosaur roar.

 

Poor granny lay dead still.

Given a sleeping pill.

I’m no dill.

 

 

My eyes could see

You were dressed to trick me.

I pretended all was as it should be.

 

 

In the big four-poster bed you lay,

Hoping I would play.

But this was my day to make you pay.

 

 

All was not what it seemed.

Your sharp teeth gleamed.

Showing you for who you are was my dream.

 

 

A mean cold stare,

Laid you bare.

Come closer you dared.

 

I had to be brave

To save poor granny from the grave.

Coming your way was a shock wave.

 

 

I may be sweet and dressed in red

But you should be filled with dread.

That isn’t Granny in the sickbed.

 

 

I asked the secret code word of you

You looked blue

You had no clue.

 

 

Three letters please

Don’t be a tease.

I can see you freeze

 

 

Tell me now

Stop wrinkling your brow

On your nose ‘kapow!’

 

The code word is red.

Your face is red.

You run with dread.

 

Sharing is caring

Your red face is laid bare

For now there is no one you can scare.

 

Karen Hendriks  

Why? by Celia Berrell

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Why?

 

“Why?” as a child is a popular word.

It shows that we want to know more of our world.

And sometimes we learn

some incredible things:

 

Like why the sky’s blue

and what is a gnu

and how you can catch

the measles and ‘flu.

And back in the past

how much harder life was

because of the things

that nobody knew.

 

It’s part of our nature to want to know why

despite that the answer’s a truth or a lie.

And sometimes we learn

some incredible myths:

 

Like why Santa comes

only once a year.

And when will the Easter

Bunny appear.

Descriptions of monsters

that cause us great fear.

And how crystal balls

make everything clear.

 

While we’re a child, all answers seem true

(until we get older and think them all through).

But even as adults we frequently find

it’s not always easy to change our mind!

 

Celia Berrell

Celia said: Got a question?  Nowadays we can look for answers on the internet any time 24/7.  But how can we tell if the information we find there is true or false?  That’s another question!

Question Time by Monty Edwards

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Question Time

 

I have a younger brother,

Who recently turned four.

He asks Mum many questions

And then he asks some more.

I tried to ask our mother

Why he kept asking “Why?”

The answer that she gave me

Was one enormous sigh.

 

She then breathed in quite deeply

And started to explain

How asking all those questions

Was strengthening his brain.

For as we all get older

And use our ears and eyes,

Our questions bring us answers:

The “Why?”s help make us wise.

 

Monty Edwards

Monty says: “The numerous question marks of the prompt made me think of the many questions asked by young children that may test a parent’s patience, but are an essential part of a child’s development.”

What a Beautiful Day by Jeanie Axton

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The dog went out in the sunshine

And soaked up all the rays

It looked up into the sky

And barked ” What a beautiful day”

 

The cat went out in the sunshine

And pranced around a bit

Turned around and went inside

In the window sill to sit

 

The dog stayed out in the sunshine

In circles chasing his tail

He was not going back inside

Sun rain or hail

 

The cat stayed in the window sill

Watching the world go by

Grinning at the silly dog

A scratch a lick a sigh

  Jeanie Axton

Sunshine in the Lounge Room by Virginia Lowe

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Sunshine in the lounge room

 

You are my sunshine

 

The player piano

gave me the words

there on the roll

 

My only sunshine

 

I pushed the pedals

and sang at the top

of my voice

 

You make me happy

 

And I was happy

there in the lounge room

with no sunshine at all

 

When skies are grey

 

skies might have been blue

or grey with rain

But the piano played for me

 

Please don’t take my sunshine away

 

Virginia Lowe

Virginia said: I can’t hear the word without (mentally) singing the song, which I learned in childhood, just as the poem says.