The Magic of Mums

Justin Coe’s brand new collection of poems is all about The Magic of Mums and aren’t mums truly amazing? I like the A to Z arrangement of the 46 poems beginning with Action Mum and ending with Zzzz Mother. After all the things mums have to do, I’m not surprised they need some rest!

The different types of poems have been written to be performed and shared. The diverse collection means that young and not so young readers will be able find a poem to match their unique mums. I’m sure there is a poem for every mum out there because Justin Coe has included funny poems, heartfelt poems and serious poems as part of this compilation. I wonder which one will be your favourite poem and why. My personal favourite is called Gentle Mum. It is written as a kenning, ‘trouble-smoother, worry soother’ with all of the things wonderful, real life mums do each and every day. I’ve shared it with my mum because it described her so well and she absolutely loved it.

This collection is a follow up to Justin Coe’s Dictionary of Dads. I think children between the ages of 8 and 10 would appreciate the different styles of poetry and begin to understand more current issues such as those described in Windrush Mum. I think Justin Coe shares his observations with honesty, humour and love. You can tell he is a performance poet from the way the poems have been written because you find yourself reading them aloud. The illustrations by Steve Wells are black and white cartoons and are powerful in that they reinforce the ideas of diversity and inclusivity after all we are all different and difference should be celebrated.