Read about the Land of Blue, where it’s OK to feel sad, find ideas for what to do with worries or how to slow down when your head is full of hurry. Give yourself time to chill out, find quiet voices in noisy places and discover kindness in yourself and others. Then maybe your own special thought machine will tell you, ‘This is going well. You’re doing great. You’ve got this!’ And you have!
This important and unique anthology of 45 poems by three leading poets, well known for their empathy and perception, speaks to the heart of what children think and care about, offering understanding, support and encouragement.
With an endnote by leading clinical psychologist Karen Goodall.
Liz Brownlee is a poet, performer and film-maker. Much of her work is about animals, and she is a fr
Now a multi award winning full-time poet, Matt Goodfellow visits schools around the UK and beyond, inspiring children and adults to get involved with poetry through his performances and workshops and working with organisations including National Poetry Day, the Forward Arts Foundation, the Premier League, the National Literacy Trust, Book Trust and CLPE. His debut novel, told in verse, The Final Year, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, written for middle-grade readers won the CLiPPA Award for Children’s Poetry 2024 and the Children’s Book Award for Older Readers 2024 (Federation of Children’s Book Groups) amongst many others. The follow-up to The Final Year, The First Year, is published in April 2025.
He is also the author of Caterpillar Cake, illustrated by Krina Patel-Sage and shortlisted for the CLiPPA award in 2022, Shu-Lin’s Grandpa, illustrated by Yu Rong and shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2022 and a contributor to CLiPPA-shortlisted poetry collection Being Me: Poems about Thoughts, Worries and Feelings, all published by Otter-Barry Books. He has written two poetry collections for older readers: Let’s Chase Stars Together, shortlisted for the CLiPPA award 2023, and Tomorrow We Begin, published in 2024. Matt lives in Stockport.
Laura Mucha is an award-winning poet, author and speaker. She has won two international poetry prizes (the Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2016 and the inaugural YorkMix Poems for Children 2019), and her effervescent and thought-provoking poems have been published around the world. She also writes for adults, and her debut book Love Factually/We Need to Talk About Love was published in 2019. Dear Ugly Sisters is her first book for children. Laura lives with her husband and son in London. You can read and listen to more of her work at lauramucha.com. @lauramucha
Victoria Jane Wheeler trained at the Royal College of Art. She is a visual artist, illustrator and educator, most often working in art galleries and museums and within higher education. Working to support young people, students and communities to harness their own creativity, often at the interface between creative practice and teaching/learning activities, she is passionate about promoting and creating creative opportunities and access to the arts. Her work is held in collections such as Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections, Preston City Council, and within an educational handling collection at The Whitworth Art Gallery.
