100 ways to fly by Michelle Taylor

UQP, 2019. ISBN: 9780702262500.
(Age: Younger readers) Recommended. Themes: Poetry. I confess that I like poetry . . . for the play that can be enjoyed with woven words, for the power of a well-placed rhyme or of the quirk of an idea that stretches the imagination. And so, this book by Michelle Taylor is a delightful excursion into poetry for younger readers that I am happy to recommend. She manages to explore language in ways that are appealing to the young, but without being childish. Some of her poems, riddles or tongue twisters are very short - but incredibly potent in the way they have been squeezed into such a small space. Some of her explorations of metaphor or an idea can transport you to far away places . . . and perhaps even to fly; and her use of pattern and shape gives new examples of this form of expression.
This would make a great book for a classroom teacher looking for ways to inspire their students to love poetry or to modify their own thinking about what a poem might look like or sound like as the words trip off the tongue. Teacher's notes are available. And there are of course young readers who love to read something that does not take a long time. This poetry collection would appeal to them too.
Carolyn Hull