In the Land of the Giants

This is only the second of George Szirtes’ books of poetry for children, and represents a selection from 25 years work. His first, The Red All Over Riddle Book , published as long ago as 1997, was a book I always took with me when, as a visiting librarian, I went to schools to tell stories or read poems: a small book packed with fascinating examples of that most venerable way of looking at the world sideways. The present collection, which includes poems by other poets that Szirtes has translated from his native Hungarian, continues to show his own fascination with the quirkiness of English. A sub- section of the book, entitled ‘The Bee’s Knees’, conjures poems from similar common usages like ‘The Wall’s Ears’ and takes off into even stranger realms with ‘The Sun’s Toes’ and ‘The Bicycle’s Wrists’. In the sequence, ‘In the Land of the Giants’, the poems are sometimes weirder and darker, as he explores the relationship of children and adults. To my mind, he is the very best of poets for children (and adults, for that matter). Never showy or superior, equally comfortable with or without rhyme, and showing us the mystery, wonder and humour of the world with clarity and elegance. He observes and transforms, beginning with the everyday and ending somewhere else, inviting us into the poems, showing us what we thought we knew and revealing that we knew more than we thought. In this collection, there are over sixty poems to enjoy and share. Don’t miss it.