Red Sky at Night, Poet's Delight

In this latest collection from Alex Wharton, Children’s Laureate Wales our senses are not bombarded with the grotesque or unremitting slapstick humour. Of course there is Mr Slime and the awful Horrible Hector the Hedgehog (now deceased) but rather Wharton invites young readers – and listeners – to reflect, see the world with thought. Where do notes played on piano take you? Climb up Poetry Hill where ‘all is still on poetry hill:/the poet doesn’t speak./He piles his thoughts into/a heap and slips into/his dreams ‘. A brief reflection on life, a night car journey, a contemplation of of self in This is Me draw the reader in. Then there is the final narrative poem in which Wharton imagines a year of seasons through the voice of an oak tree as it grows. This is a poet deeply invested in the natural world. However, this is not an overly serious collection – there is plenty of humour as Wharton describes such moments as the effect of a stubbed toe or what might happen if you watch too much television (scary). Rhyme is treated lightly, rhythm runs through every line – Wharton is a performance poet and while these poems are easily read to oneself there is the sense they should be spoken aloud.  Forms range from the quatrain, couplets, and blank verse narrative to shaped poems – see the ball bounce in Basketball or the lovely Far Away framed as a lantern. Adding to the life and beat of Wharton’s words are the illustrations and page decorations by Ian Morris bringing a visual element and another dimension to the experience. Excellent.