Our Earth is a Poem: poetry about nature

This stunning collection of 20 poems explores and celebrates nature, from forests and rivers to gorillas, mollusc shells and even mud. As the introduction points out, poetry can spark interest in things simply through interesting phrasing – such as an otter being an ‘underwater thunderbolter’ or moss ‘a blessing on the forest’. These poems pose questions – does the butterfly miss being a caterpillar? Who swirled the whorls of a shell? – that will make the reader consider nature differently and truly engage with the words on the page.

There are dreamy, beautiful poems, funny and silly poems, and everything in between. Some rhyme and others don’t, and there are various poetic forms too, such as couplets and an acrostic.

There are 20 different poets in this anthology, and four different illustrators, all with a biography at the back. The book is large format like a picture book, and illustrated beautifully in full colour. It is part of a series, the others being Courage in a Poem and My Heart is a Poem. All are collections that would be fantastic to read aloud, and to dip into alone when in a thoughtful mood.