i am THE SEED that GREW THE TREE

There aren’t many modern children’s books that grab my attention. Usually, when called upon to do so, I insist on reading the darling niece (DN) some Blyton. But this anthology of nature poetry is exceptional. Fiona Waters has selected a poem for every day of the year, each page vibrantly illustrated by Frann Preston-gannon. The effect is enchanting and the DN was spellbound.

There is classic poetry from Shakespeare, Blake and Wordsworth, Emily Brontë, Christina Rossetti and Robert Louis

Stevenson, mixed with modern voices and anonymous rhymes.

Trees, birds, bees, beasts, weather, the sea and the shore, the night and the seasons are all captured in the best Englishlanguage poetic style, although haiku and some songs and chants from other cultures do make an appearance, too.

Read one a day, devour a month at a time or pick and choose as the pictures divert you. A love of nature needs to start when young and this is the place to start it, cement it or just discover it. By Fiona Waters Nosy Crow, £25