Description
Winner of an English PEN Award & Highly Commended for CLiPPA 2020
Be careful when you open this book: as soon as you do, the wind will whisk you up and take you on an adventure across the city. You’ll roam down empty streets, take a ride on the Metro, and catch glimpses of worlds within worlds in puddles and chimneytops. But even as the wind hurries you along, there will always be time to stop for a moment and look: at the night, the rain, the trees, the sea…
These poems reveal the magic in small, everyday things: a plastic bag dreams of becoming a cloud, raindrops go on holiday to the sea, and hats fill up with thoughts. The book builds an immersive, tender world and encourages the reader to look at the world around them with wonder and delight.
Translated by Lawrence Schimel, a bilingual author and literary translator working in and between English and Spanish. He has published over 100 books as author or anthologist, and his many awards include a Golden Kite from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a White Raven from the International Youth Library, IBBY Outstanding Books for Youth with Disabilities (twice), and other honours. He has lived in Madrid, Spain for the past 20 years.
Illustrated by Riya Chowdhury, an illustrator based in the West Midlands who likes to create fun works of art by trying new methods. She likes to use a lot of colours but also likes to work in black and white.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
‘I am both a poet & translator, but I am foremost a reader, and I had been a fan of Karmelo’s work for adults for many years. So when he published a new collection, I immediately went out and bought a copy–even though a collection for younger readers was a departure from his earlier work. But his poetic eye is essentially the same, and as I was reading these poems, with their fresh & surprising way of looking at the world, I knew I wanted to translate the book into English, to help share it with more readers.’ – Lawrence Schimel for The Federation of Children’s Book Groups
‘These poems reveal the magic in small, everyday things: a plastic bag dreams of becoming a cloud, raindrops go on holiday to the sea, and hats fill up with thoughts. The book builds an immersive, tender world and encourages the reader to look at the world around them with wonder and delight.’ – LoveReading4Kids
‘I’m sure I won’t be alone in seeing traces of Wallace Stevens, T S Eliot, Ted Hughes and even William Blake in many of these poems.’ – School Reading List
‘A very useful and stimulating resource.’ – IBBY
