Aardvark Day

There is so much to enjoy in this debut collection of poems about the natural world and our relation to it. There is a restless curiosity and wonder that takes in the quiet joy of a pebble found on the pavement, what may spring to life in the footprints of elephants, and the numerous superpowers of frogs. There is a lightly-worn but inspiring span of knowledge from what we know of the Atolla jellyfish that live in the ‘ocean’s midnight zone’ to the colour halos that ‘gleam beyond our frequency’ to attract bees to particular flowers. Here, the natural world is never just a spectacle but something that we are closely engaged with, whether we are aware of it or not. The poems constantly shift viewpoints as we seek to understand nature in our own terms and then to use what we observe of nature to understand ourselves. It’s all poetically choreographed with grace, verve, wit and quiet skill. This a stunning debut collection for children whose simplicity is freighted enough to delight and surprise even this jaded old adult reader. It’s given appealing illustration by Kate Lucy Foster and a splendid production by Emma Press.