Rating: *** 3 stars

Selected by Wendy Cooling, illustrated by Sheila Moxley
All the Colours of the Earth.
Frances Lincoln, 2004.

A diverse collection of 31 poems from all over the world, looking at some of the concerns of children from play to poverty. Among the poets featured are Tagore, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti and Felice Holman. The overall theme is global citizenship and though the poems encompass issues such as deforestation and hunger, the lingering mood is upbeat, particularly in the offerings by Steve Turner, John Agard and Benjamin Zephaniah where hope and positivity are sung out.

The book is generously illustrated in full colour. Moxley uses an appropriately naïve style which helps draw readers into the poets' world.

Jill Bennett