Search

Bad Bad Cats is an award-winning collection of poetry for children by celebrated British poet Roger McGough.

The book is divided into three parts: the first, 'The Cats’ Protection League', tells the story of the daring exploits of the 'bad, bad cats' of the title. 'Waxing Lyrical' includes a variety of poems on a range of different subjects and themes, whilst the final part, 'Carnival of the Animals', is a sequence of animal-themed poems inspired by the famous music composed by Saint-Saens. Packed with witty wordplay, and quirky humour, this delightful collection will appeal to children of all ages, and is perfect for use in the primary classroom.

Our new downloadable teaching resource provides information, ideas and activities for fun classroom activities to use with Key Stage 2 pupils, accompanied by curriculum links.

You'll also find more information about Roger McGough, as well as useful recommendations of more great poetry collections.

These units of work aimed at Key Stage 2 will allow you to explore newspaper writing in the classroom. They are ideal for use as part of an Everybody Writes project.

Download our new teaching sequence for Michael Rosen's A-Z: The Best Children's Poetry from Agard to Zephaniah

Michael Rosen's A-Z was developed during Michael Rosen's time as Children's Laureate from 2007-2009. The book accompanied his A-Z of poetry tour which saw him travel all over the UK to excite children about poetry.

This fabulous anthology of poetry for children includes a poet for every letter of the alphabet - with a few exceptions - Rosen has played around with some of the tricky letters, to give the reader something extra to think about! Featuring both older poems and plenty of contemporary works, the focus is on fun, reading aloud and diversity.

Our new downloadable teaching resource provides information, ideas and activities for fun classroom activities to use with Key Stage 2 pupils, as well as some activities suitable for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 3.

You will also find more information about Michael Rosen, as well as useful recommendations of more great poetry anthologies.

Find a wealth of resources from award-winning poet and former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen to help make the classroom poetry friendly, including teaching sequences, book recommendations, activity ideas, videos and helpful tips from Michael himself.

Plum was the first poetry collection from Tony Mitton, who has gone on to become a leading voice in contemporary children’s poetry. Ranging from the haunting to the hilarious, the poems in this collection include a wide range of different forms and styles, from ballads to riddles to rap, and take their influences from folk-tales and fairy-tales from all over the world.

Accompanied by delicate illustrations by Peter Bailey, this collection makes an ideal introduction to sharing, enjoying and thinking about poetry for younger primary children. It is also an effective stimulus for creative writing and art activities in the classroom.

Our downloadable teaching resource includes ideas for fun and creative classroom activities aimed at children at Key Stage 1, although many of these suggestions could also be used with Foundation Stage or Key Stage 2.

You will also find more information about the author, Tony Mitton, as well as useful poetry book recommendations.

Set in the First World War, Private Peaceful charts eight hours in the life of Tommo, a young soldier at the Front, as he looks back over the events of his life: his father’s early death, his relationship with his loving mother and brothers, Big Joe and Charlie, and their beloved schoolfriend Molly – all set among an evocative and beautifully realised rural landscape.

Passionate, beguiling and moving, the book is also an unflinching examination of the horrors of war and the injustice surrounding the execution of soldiers by firing squad, on the – often false – grounds of desertion or cowardice.

Our downloadable teaching resource provides comprehensive notes, plus ideas and activities for using this book to support the teaching of English as well as History, Art, ICT and PSHE with pupils at Key Stage 3 or upper Key Stage 2.

You will also find more information about the author, Michael Morpurgo, as well as useful book recommendations.

Sweets is a funny, touching and uplifting picture book from emerging Dutch author and illustrator Sylvia van Ommen. It has already achieved cult status in its native Holland, but whilst it has also been highly acclaimed in Japan and the US, it has not yet become widely known in the UK.

Two friends – a rabbit, Joris, and a cat, Oscar – text each other and agree to meet in the park to eat some sweets and drink some coffee. A sky-blue sweet gets Oscar thinking and what follows is a poignant discussion about whether heaven exists, and if so, what it’s like. Will there be sweets in heaven? Oscar and Joris decide that if they do end up there, they will arrange to meet. Joris can bring the sweets and Oscar can bring the coffee, and even if they have forgotten each other, they can soon learn to be friends again...

Our downloadable teaching resource provides ideas and suggestions for some fun and creative classroom activities for children at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. As well as ideas for literacy and English activities, the guide includes suggestions for PSHE, art, maths, science and geography.

You will also find more information about the author, Sylvia van Ommen, as well as useful book recommendations.

The Diamond of Drury Lane is the story of Cat Royal: a spirited orphan living and working at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 1790. Winner of the Waterstone's Children’s Book Prize, the Nestle Children’s Book Prize and the Costa Book Award in 2006, this is the first in the popular Cat Royal series.

Cat’s adventures introduce readers to the hustle and bustle of daily life in Georgian London, from the gutters and gangs to the splendour of the aristocracy. With plenty of twists and turns, this pacy thriller offers an insight into some of the key political and social issues of the day. However, although it is packed with historical detail, this is also a story about relationships and self-discovery.

Our downloadable teaching resource provides comprehensive notes, plus fun and creative ideas and activities for using this book to support the teaching of English and History, as well as PSHE, with pupils at upper Key Stage 2.

You will also find more information about the author, Julia Golding, as well as useful book recommendations.