The Hodder Reading Project Level 4-5 identifies blocks to progression and takes pupils from National Curriculum Level 4 to Level 5. It comprises the Teacher's Resource, Pupil's Book and 6 Readers. Reader 2, Half-caste and Other Poems by John Agard. 'Half-Caste', the title poem of this collection, is one of the set poems for GCSE English for AQA A, the largest spec with 375,000 candidates. But its influence and presence extends well beyond the 'AQA' schools, making John Agard one of the most popular, well-known and respected poet-performers on the schools circuit. Through his 45 poems, John Agard explores a wide variety of themes: racial harmony, tension and diversity; war and religion; society, patriotism and politics; as well as more personal ideas on relationships, love and attraction. This is all delivered with a range and depth in terms of content, language, poetic form and technique that will engage and motivate KS3 and KS4 pupils while developing their understanding. An ideal collection to sit at the heart of a scheme of work on cross-cultural themes.

Includes poetry from We Brits that gives an outsider-insider view of British life in poems which both challenge and cherish our peculiar culture and hallowed institutions. This book also includes Weblines that contains three Caribbean myths of transformation: the steeldrum, the limbo dancer, and Anansi, the spider trickster god.

Books contain countless tales—but what if Book told its own story? From clay tablets to e-readers, here is a quirky, kid-friendly look at the book. Books are one of humankind’s greatest forms of expression, and now Book, in a witty, idiosyncratic voice, tells us the inside story. A wonderfully eccentric character with strong opinions and a poetic turn of phrase, Book tells of a journey from papyrus scrolls to medieval manuscripts to printed paper and beyond—pondering, along the way, many bookish things, including the evolution of the alphabet, the library (known to Egyptians as "the healing place of the soul"), and even book burning. With bold, black-and-white illustrations by Neil Packer, Book is a captivating work of nonfiction by one of England's leading poets.

The father of performance poetry, John Agard, brings you a collection of riotously funny poems. Follow that Word is a celebration of imagination and demonstrates the true diversity of language. A dazzling collection of over sixty poems, Follow That Word delivers John Agard's musings on people and places from the modern and historical world, this wonderful collection that can be rediscovered over and over again. With gorgeous black-and-white illustrations from Momoko Abe, these poems truly come to life for all children, and this collection belongs on every bookshelf. 'It's been around from Creation dawn, And it only takes two to catch on, Try it people, and you'll soon see, This is a dance that can set you free, It's called the dance of diversity.' Reviews for Half-caste, and Other Poems: 'Rollicking Caribbean-flavored rhythms combined with serious matters such as racism define poet extraordinaire, Agard.' - Voya A performance poet, Agard uses his rhyme, repetition and refrains that make his work sing...Skilful use of humour to get his serious points across. - The Book Horn Inc

Books contain countless tales--but what if Book told its own story? From clay tablets to e-readers, here is a quirky, kid-friendly look at the book. Books are one of humankind's greatest forms of expression, and now Book, in a witty, idiosyncratic voice, tells us the inside story. A wonderfully eccentric character with strong opinions and a poetic turn of phrase, Book tells of a journey from papyrus scrolls to medieval manuscripts to printed paper and beyond--pondering, along the way, many bookish things, including the evolution of the alphabet, the library (known to Egyptians as "the healing place of the soul"), and even book burning. With bold, black-and-white illustrations by Neil Packer, Book is a captivating work of nonfiction by one of England's leading poets.

A tender, moving and joyous story from one of our nation's premier poets, John AgardFrom above earth, from above sky,from below earth, from under water,come all you little personscome exactly as you are.Come little bird person, come little bee person, come little tree person - little persons from all over the world join together to celebrate the dance of life and love in this stunning poem from John Agard. Stunningly illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle, this is a book that both little persons and big persons will treasure and pore over for a lifetime, and is a true poem of our time.'A lyrical collaboration . . . a joyful, tender dance, celebrating people, places and the glory of existence.' Guardian'This book is a celebration of childhood and the natural world in all its rich diversity.' BookTrust

A strange and charming collection of hilariously absurd poetry, writing, and illustration from one of today's most popular young comedians?Ķ Bo Burnham was a precocious teenager living in his parents' attic when he started posting material on YouTube. 100 million people viewed those videos, turning Bo into an online sensation with a huge and dedicated following. Bo taped his first of two Comedy Central specials four days after his 18th birthday, making him the youngest to do so in the channel's history. Now Bo is a rising star in the comedy world, revered for his utterly original and intelligent voice. And, he can SIIIIIIIIING! In Egghead, Bo brings his brand of brainy, emotional comedy to the page in the form of off-kilter poems, thoughts, and more. Teaming up with his longtime friend, artist, and illustrator Chance Bone, Bo takes on everything from death to farts in this weird book that will make you think, laugh and think, "why did I just laugh?"

For no particular reason He had the blue cow tattooed on his right shoulder He would have been killed in the riots yesterday But they were good people— Seeing a cow, they let him go! Written in Gulzar’s inimitable style, the poems in his newest volume of poetry reflect and comment, sometimes elliptically through a visual image, sometimes with breathtaking immediacy and directness, on the political reality in the country today. Powerful, poignant and impossible to ignore or gloss over, the fifty-two threads that make up Suspected Poems unfold across the entire political spectrum—from the disturbed climate in the country and the culture of intolerance to the plight of the aam aadmi, from the continued oppression of Dalits and minority communities to fluctuating Indo–Pak relations. Written with Gulzar’s characteristic incisiveness and his unique perspective, and translated marvelously into English by Pavan K. Varma, Suspected Poems, made available in a special keepsake bilingual edition, will delight every reader of poetry and Gulzar’s many fans.

Can our hoodie hero make it through nine circles of Hell and back again? Will he find love with his soulmate, Beatrice? Discover the city of Dis where everybody disses everybody. Meet Frankenstein, the lovesick bouncer with the bling-bling. Come face to face with the Furies, a gang of snake-haired females in T-shirts. Prepare for a host of gluttons, bigots and plunderers from the world of history and politics. John Agard fires Dante's Inferno into the 21st century in a red-hot retelling, with wicked artwork from Satoshi Kitamura.