A Whale of a Time

A poetry lover's delight.

Absolutely adored the rich variety of poetry nestled within the pages of this collection. Great to see Joshua Seigal's I Don't Like Poetry and loved Try from Joseph Coehlo, pleased to see words from Langston Hughes and Valerie Bloom in there too. What wonderful delights to read out loud!

Matt Hunt's artwork is glorious - filled with adventure and joy.

Emma Perry

I've been looking for a new poetry anthology for my classroom and I believe I've found it!
I savoured every poem in the sample and found myself reading them out loud and chuckling away to myself as I did so. I particularly enjoyed January 1st, the elephants in February, May 17th and September 4th. Each poem is accompanied by gorgeous colourful illustrations which are the perfect complement. My class love poetry and every day we select a poem to read and share together and I know my children will enjoy devouring all of the treats within this anthology by poets both familiar and new too.
I can't wait to be able to purchase a copy for myself.

Thank you NetGalley and Nosey Crow for this eCopy to review

We loved the sample poems, the illustrations really brought the poems to life and they caused plenty of laughter in fact we had a whale of a time reading them, they were such fun with lots of rhymes and tongue twister bits! Will definitely be on our Christmas list to get a copy

It is a great anthology of happy poems. It is beautifully illustrated. With the wide variety of poems on offer, it will be a valuable source of inspiration for teaching poems.

Nosy Crow's series of poetry books has been one of the highlights of the Christmas season for the last few years for me, This year's title is going to be just as amazing, from this short extract.

Happily the publishers have offered a sample of pages from across the whole year rather than just one section, so this gave me a good chance to see some different months. I can see that there are witches at Hallowe'en, so I'm sure there will be other themed sections as well, and there also seems to be some grouping of similar poems together.

I love the illustrations; it's all the same illustrator, but he's managed to vary his style here and there and he also cleverly makes the same illustration serve a couple of poems. I can't wait to spend some time poring over the whole book!

A fabulous addition to the series, and one I'm really looking forward to reading.

I only had the sample edition to read, but having just read a snippet of this collection of poems I know that other readers are going to be in for a real treat.
The variety of poems is fantastic, some had me laughing, others had me nodding along thinking "so true". I'm sure there's plenty of poems in this collection that will appeal to every type of poetry fan out there.

The artwork is beautiful, and one of the things which really drew me to this book.
The colours pop on the page and the art is themed towards the poems featured on each page.

It's a really fun read.

I read this with my (almost) four year old before bed. We both adored it and had fun reading it together. My son was riveted by the illustrations and I enjoyed the simplistic rhyming nature of the poems and laughing at their clever silliness.

My sons favourite poem was Elephony! We read that one a good few times.

Would recommend to anybody who has young children.

As soon as I started reading this sample I knew that I would have to order the book for our bookshelf. I may even buy individual copies for Christmas, surely the best gift you can give is a year of laughter !

It's a good thing 2024 is a leap year so all 366 poems in this anthology will get an accurate airing. I love a book where you read a designated poem or excerpt of a novel each day and the cheerfully bright illustrations add a smile each time you venture between the covers of this special book.

Whilst I have to admit I didn't recognise all the talented individuals included in this sample, there were a reassuring number of familiar ones and I imagine the same will be said for the whole book. It will be fun to become acquainted with new poets throughout the year.

I was able to read a sample of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Nosy Crow, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a great way to start a nighttime routine and explore some excellent poetry at the same time. Recommended.

Guaranteed fun and giggles as you read through this wonderful anthology of poems from a wide range of poets. There are 366 belly-busting, laughter filled poems to fill each day of the year, including a leap year. Nosy Crow has once again created a stunning must- have collection for the whole family to enjoy. My kids and I continue to adore I am the Seed that Grew the Tree, Tiger Tiger Burning Bright, plus And Everything Will Be Glad To See You, so we cannot wait to add the hardback edition of this to our collection on publication day on September 14th. My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed this sampler with laugh out loud poems like Elephoney, The Dentist and the Crocodile, Octopus, Which Witch?, and My Woollen Sweater Itches Me. There are poems about animals, school, clothes, food, witches and more from much loved poets such as Maya Angelou, Roald Dahl, Wendy Cope, Brian Bilston, Benjamin Zephaniah, Michael Rosen and many, many more, all brought together by Lou Peacock. There is something to tickle the fancy of the whole family. Like all the other Nosy Crow anthologies, this is one we will want to own a physical copy of due to its sheer beauty. The illustrations by Matt Hunt are stunning, and the hardcopy will boast a luxurious cloth binding with a ribbon marker. I gift these books often due to their wonderful content and gorgeous appearance. #awhaleofatime #loupeacock #matthunt #netgalley #nosycrow #sampler

I have only read the sample but this is a brilliant anthology of poetry which children will love. There is a wide variety of topics, types of poems and styles which will appeal to all. I like the idea of havimg a poem to read and discuss each day too either with family or in a school setting. The illustrations are vibrant and bring the poems to life too.

A poem a day for a year? What a great idea! Children are naturally drawn to rhythm, repetition and rhyme, especially when it’s humorous. Although the select sample of poems I was sent to review was relatively small, it revealed a wide variety of amusing poetry from an eclectic group of gifted poets and authors.

The poems range from the gently humorous, lighthearted, frivolous and laugh-out-loud, to those where a groan is elicited or a wry smile evoked. Others give you pause to ponder a while. There’s plenty to stretch the mind and tongue here.

I was particularly impressed by ‘I Don’t Love Poetry’ by Joshua Seigal. It’s perfect for children who think they might share the title’s sentiment but find themselves won over by the artful poetry itself.

And my inner child could strongly identify with ‘Choosing Shoes’ by Ffrida Wolfe. It brought back memories of longing for the type of shoes my mother wouldn’t buy for me, the colours and styles I loved but she deemed unsuitable.

As a poet myself, I’m delighted by the idea of reading a poem a day, if you can restrict yourself to only one, that is. This lovely collection introduces children to the joy of reading poetry, the rhythmic thrill of read-aloud rhymes, and the art of wrangling with words which they could be inspired to try themselves.

I love the vivid way the poems are illustrated. The compelling, colourful images really bring the verses and their messages to life, encourage interest and further exploration of the text. Grownups and children alike will have a whale of a time reading this brilliant book. Grateful thanks to Nosy Crow and NetGalley for the sample ARC.

This book was so adorable, I loved everything about it, the illustrations were so well done, they suited the book perfectly, the story was amazing as well, even thought is very short I could really connect with the characters. I’m sure the kids are going to be just as enthralled with this amazing book as I was. I will definitely recommend! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

What a beautiful book! Such gorgeous illustrations that are really bright and engaging for children of all ages. The poems are brilliant and there’s a great range of themes that I’m sure children will thoroughly enjoy

This is a really lovely book full of interesting poems and superb illustrations. all ages will love this as a treat to read each day. Some are short and some are long; some are by famous poets and some by newer poets. Some of my favourites re here and i will love getting he book when it is finally published. It is for adults and children and will bring smiles to those that are ally affected by dementia.

A Whale of a Time is an excellent book for children. It also will put a smile of adults. The range of poems is excellent. The feel of the poems is playful, informative and entertainment. Highly recommended!

An amazing anthology which will inspire and open conversations The rich language and amazing illustrations are wonderful springboards for groups and larger classes. The poems can also be adapted for special needs children.