New Releases by Roger McGough

Roger McGough is one of Britain''s best loved poets and this collection ''charts [his] passage from youthful exuberance to the wry reflection of his later years. What remains the same throughout the 40 years is the poet''s winning wit, accessibility and abiding readability'' Independent ---------------------------------- ''Time has confirmed ... that McGough''s talent was much more substantial than many of his long-forgotten detractors suspected. If he was a pop poet it was not in any ephemeral sense. A shy extrovert ... he has given voice to poetry and found a voice of his own which is humourful, introspective, irreverent, easy on the ear, conversational. It is also memorable and enduring and fresh. Age has not withered [his lines] nor diminished their potency. Of how much modern poetry can you say that?'' Sunday Herald

Find out about how everyday things were invented, in this mix of fantasy and science! Eccentric inventor Professor Dorothy Dabble sets off to London with Digby her pet robot, to enter a competition for the best invention. On the way, they discover lots of amazing stories about the invention of everyday objects.

In Babylon, the people feel the need to bring food for the mythical beast that lived in the temple. The wise Daniel says that the beast is just a statue and doesn''t need offerings. But this only serves to infuriate the priests, who give him one night to prove the truth of his claims.

A brilliant collection of brand-new poems from ''the patron saint of poetry''. Longer, narrative poems sit comfortably with Roger McGough''s sharper observations and insightful words in this collection, perfectly illustrated in black-and-white line by Helen Stephens.

Wouldn''t it be funny if you didn''t have a nose? The brilliant and clever Roger McGough asks this and other important questions in this marvellous collection. He also tells you exactly when to cut your fingernails, how to have a real pillow fight and what happens when a burp escapes!

Waiter, there''s a sky in my pie! Roger McGough has cooked up a delicious feast of poems. This spicy collection contains only the finest ingredients - wit, sparkle and thought-provoking insight from a very superior source. Get ready to have your tastebuds tickled! Warning: some poems will make you choke with laughter, some need to be chewed very carefully.

Bobby the teddy bear gives the moon to his sweetheart Betty.

Children of all ages will laugh out loud after reading this comic collection of poems. Roger McGough has compiled a wonderful array of favorite writers past and present -- from the classic verse of Lewis Carroll and Ogden Nash to the ridiculous rhymes of Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. With over 200 poems, this humorously illustrated book is a must for any family library.

Clever die-cuts on each page of this board book encourage young readers to ponder different shapes and the objects they could be. A simple turn of the page reveals the very unexpected answers throughout this unique guessing-game fantasy. Full-color illustrations.

This poem looks tasty This poem looks sweet And if it''s good enough to publish Then it''s good enough to eat Roger McGough serves up a tasty treat. From a varied menu, try a starter of cartwheels and blue strawberries, a main course of riddles and potato couches, or a dessert of tongue-twisters and chocolate wardrobes. Food for thought, and good enough to eat!

These poems contain Roger McGough''s own spin on innocence and experience. Poems about his docker father and his new daughter; poems about how, in his dreams, he gave the idea of "Hey Jude" to McCartney and advised Dylan to go electric; and poems about sad music and the sad eclipses of everyday life. 2002.

In his first new book since Defying Gravity in 1993, Roger McGough mixes surreal nonsense with gentle humour.

Roger McGough''s The Ring of Words is a perfect introduction to the pleasures of poetry. His selection is wonderfully varied, drawing on classic and contemporary poets, and illustrates, if there were any doubters, just how relevant poetry is to our lives. The poems are, in one way or another, about growing up: placing ourselves in the world around us and discovering the imaginative world in our own heads. There are poems of exhilaration and poems of sadness, poems that ambush us with the unexpected (and make us think about something all over again) and poems that make us laugh out loud. Whether about secret passions or shared enthusiasms, dreams of escape or longing for home, each of the poems has its own ring of truth which will resound in readers of all ages. The book has been beautifully illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura, whose distinctive and quirky style makes the book a feast for the eye as well as the ear.

A brilliant new collection of poems. The poetry contains the clever word-play, rich ideas and humour associated with Roger McGough. It includes a series of poems about the exploits of some gangster cats and verse based on CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS by Saint Saens.

Kites are not cuddly and you can''t play football with them, but when the neglected kite comes to belong to Caitlin, it is appreciated for the very first time. Seriously ill, confined to bed, Caitlin dreams of the day she will get better and fly with the kite high over the mountains of the world. Caitlin doesn''t get better, but her final journey with the kite leads them both to a place without pain and suffering where they can be free. This exceptional book allows children to approach the concept of death at the level for which each individual is ready.

This is the fourth volume in a series which aims to show the richness and diversity of contemporary poetry. It offers representative poems of three poets, Liz Lochhead, Roger McGough and Sharon Olds, who chose the poems themselves.

In this evocative and personal collection of poems Roger McGough comes to terms with painful memories as well as confronting fears that are universal. Here he remembers his father in ‘Squaring Up’ and ‘Alphabet Soup’; observes the eccentricities of contemporary life in ‘The City of London Tour’; gives insights into human feeling with the surreal ‘Your Favourite Hat’ and the moving elegy ‘Defying Gravity’; and muses on writing itself with ‘Word Trap’ and ‘The Darling Buds of Maybe’. There are even witty poems dedicated to the chemical elements. Blending the everyday and the magical, his verses sparkle with verbal dexterity, irreverent humour, irony and heartfelt compassion.

A small boy who dreams of running away to the circus is surprised to wake up the next morning and find the circus has run away to join him, overrunning the house with performers, including clowns who delight in throwing custard pies at him. Suggested level: junior.