A Passing On of Shells

Scallywag Press proudly present Simon Lamb's dazzling debut collection of poetry, featuring fifty luminous poems, each written in exactly fifty words, fully-illustrated throughout by much-loved former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell.

With subjects ranging from family, identity, and growing up, to the need for hope, the wonder of nature, and the very concept of poetry itself, Simon offers his poems as small nuggets of wisdom, warmth and wit to help readers of all ages navigate their lives.

Complementing the always-present three-dimensional sense of drama and interaction with the reader, every poem is gifted its own double page spread, each one exquisitely illustrated by Chris Riddell, with his distinctive insight and flair adding new layers of meaning and joy to these already magical poems.

A beautifully-produced hardback gift edition with textured cover, de-bossing and thick paper, this is a book to read, to keep, to love.

 

Reviews

'From the simple to the ambitious, these poems pack a speedy punch, ate entertaining and profound, and demonstrate the rich variety of poetic forms that can use only 50 words.' Sunday Times Culture

'The imaginative exercise that poet Simon Lamb sets himself is to write poems of exactly 50 words. Their compact length does not come at the expense of depth, far from it; these warm and witty poems cover a wide range of themes, feelings and poetic devices, and are accompanied by supportive illustrations from the award-winning Chris Riddell.' CLPE

'These fifty poems - just fifty words each - will serve as invitations to children to write their own poetry; it seems in this playful, ingenious collection such a very enjoyable thing to do.' Books for Keeps

'Each poem transports you to its own little world and many of them lend them self well to echo reading, readers theatre and spoken word. There are some lovely models in this book for haikus and rhyming couplets that could easily lead the children into writing their own. As well as the words by Lamb, Chris Riddell's illustrations are as you would expect: exceptional. They bring further beauty, humour or emotion to Lamb's poetry and are a treat to behold.' Just Imagine

'A beautiful, accessible poetry collection that will appeal to fans of Michael Rosen and Joseph Coelho. There's free verse, haikus, shape poems, rhyming couplets and (almost) acrostics. Each poem is beautifully illustrated by the former Children's Laureate and triple Kate Greenaway Medal winner Chris Riddell in his trademark fantastical style of intricate line drawings.' School Reading list

 

Reviews from contemporary poets

'Here are poems to make you smile, chuckle, laugh out loud and ponder. Entertaining and thought-provoking. Genius!' Valerie Bloom, author of Stars with Flaming Tails

'A show-stopping adventure! Stirringly heartfelt. I hope it makes its way onto every child’s bookshelf. For I know it will make its way into every child's heart.' Zaro Weil, author of When Poems Fall from the Sky

'These ingenious poems are crammed with wonder, insight and magic. Using just fifty words, Simon conjures whole worlds with his precise and playful use of language.' Kate Wakeling, author of Cloud Soup

'With its fifty invitations to write, A Passing On of Shells will leave poems in its wake wherever it goes. Whether questioning the stars or contemplating slugs, Simon Lamb's child-friendly take on the world invites readers of all ages to ask questions of their own.' Mandy Coe, author of Belonging Street

'The joy of the book is the variety of themes and images and styles: you turn the page and go somewhere new, see something new, think something new every time.' A. F. Harrold, author of The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice

'Simon Lamb's touch is light and the poems skip along. Children will love the word play and humour.' Coral Rumble, author of Things That Should Be in a Poem

'Clever stuff and an invitation to young writers (and older ones too) to attempt something similar.' Brian Moses, author of Selfies with Komodos

'Delightful little poems full of wit, verve and imagination. I wish I'd written them!' Joshua Seigal, author of Yapping Away

'Magical words are accompanied by Chris Riddell's masterful illustrations in this exciting debut collection. Simon Lamb has landed and is a welcome new voice on the children's poetry scene.' Colin West, author of Nutty Nonsense

 

 

<< Back to books