Stars in Jars: New and Collected Poems by Chrissie Gittins

By Chrissie Gittins

A wonderful collection of new poems and old favourites, some funny and some serious, by a talented children's poet. Covering almost two decades of Chrissie Gittins's best work, this collection will appeal to anyone who loves words and what they can do.

With charming line illustrations by Calef Brown, this is a delightful selection to get children thinking, reading and rhyming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Mar 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781408196946

Chrissie Gittins

Chrissie Gittins was born in Lancashire and lives in Forest Hill in South London. She studied at Newcastle University and St Martin's School of Art, and worked as an artist and a teacher before becoming a freelance writer. She writes poetry, radio drama, short stories, and poetry for children. Her children's poetry collections Now You See Me, Now You... and I Don't Want an Avocado for an Uncle were shortlisted for the CLPE Award and three of her collections were Poetry Book Society 'choices' for the Children's Poetry Bookshelf. Two of her children's poems won Belmont Poetry Prizes in 2002. Her children's poems have been animated for Cbeebies TV and are widely anthologized. Her poem 'Death in the Poetry Library' features on the Southbank Centre audio tour.

Book preview

For Warren, Esther, Sam and Liz

Contents

Sky-High

High-Chair

Sam, Sam, Quite Contrary

The Tale of Dotty Cuddletum

Twister Hamster

Harry the Hamster

The Well-Travelled Tortoise

A Goldfish Remembers

When I Was Tiny

I Want to be My Baby Brother

My Older Brother

My Cousin

I Don’t Want an Avocado for an Uncle

My Grandma is a Nun

Fidget Pie

Gutted

My Dad’s More Embarrassing Than Your Dad

I Can’t Fix Everything

The Best Hiding Place in the World

The Way He Used To Be

Necklace

The Handkerchief Tree

To My Daughter, As She Learns to Play the Qin

Pencil Stub

A Memory of Snow

Possible Presents

My Friend Bob

Getting Up

Going to be Late for School

Gillian Costigan

Three

Dawn Meets the Queen

Queens

When Is a Boy Not a Boy?

The Inside-Out Teacher

The Ballet Teacher

Bubble Gun Paradiddle

Punctuate That Lunch You Ate

Me, Myself, I

TOP TABLE

Lou’s Pyjama-Uniform

Kassandra

The Ice Man

Roundabout

I Like the Taste of Computers

How to Make a Cup of Tea

The Noodle Eater

Food Sense

Boxes at Chapel Street Market

The Pointlessness of Not Buying Your Own Strawberry Ice Cream

Summer Pudding

Making Cream Cakes for Tina Turner

Propagating Thyme

Wish Sandwich

Government Health Warning

Files Not Found on a Computer

The Listening Station

A Slew of Clerihew

The Hysterical Tulip

Death in the Poetry Library

Messages from the Heart Scarab to the Heart

The British Museum Print Room

Figure

When I Travelled from the Country to the City

Benches, Tresco

Limerick 1

Limerick 2

NYNY

Night Sky in the Clun Valley

World Secrets

Krakatoa Meets Popocateptl

River Torridge

Moon Jelly Fish, Horniman Museum

The Humpback’s Wail

The Very Fortunate Frog

The Two-Toed Sloth’s Boast

What Do You Suppose?

Wasp on the Tube

Birds I

Grey Heron, Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park

The Night Flight of the Pterodactyl

Cormorant

Flamingo Blumingo

Jamie the Jumpling

Birds II

The Solar-Powered Fairy

Teddy Balloon

Dusk at the Botanical Gardens, Bath

Postcard from the Bathroom

A Beach for Ruksar

Mike’s Mountain Barbeque

Bradshaw Plots his Revenge

Limpet

The Return of the Wildman of Orford

The Fragrant Pirate

Piccalilli and Bottle Top

Riddle

The Powder Monkey

Isopod Song

Lifeline

Playground in the Rain

Wet

Rain in Nice

Walter the Water Wizard

Swimming at Forest Hill

The Roman Baths

Mountain Biker Poster

Back to School

Freya’s New Pair of Shoes

Iris Upsidaisy

The Year is Turning

Elastic Band Boy

The Shortest Days

The Rugby Tournament

The Girl Who Lives Under a Stone

Planet Nothing

Cherub Bob Was a Slob

Little People

Holding Back Time

Timing Is Everything

Storing Time

For Christmas

Putting Away Christmas

The ‘I’m Not Tired’ Dance

Tin Lid

Lullaby

What Does Poetry Do?

Acknowledgements

Biography

What people say about Chrissie…

Sky-High

For Vincent

William went up in a rocket

to see where it would go.

It flew round

and round

and round

the sun,

and burnt his left big toe.

Then he flew around the moon,

to see if it was made of cheese.

It crash-landed

in some camembert,

and William hurt his knees.

Then he flew through the Milky Way

and caught

a trail of stars.

He brought them home

to

his

cosy

house,

where he keeps them safe in jars.

High-Chair

for Alice Catherine

Arms up

Bib on

Eat up

Get down

Arms up

Bib on

Throw food

Mum down

Arms out

No bib

Get down

Throw up

Dad tries

No go

Head down

Give up

Sam, Sam, Quite Contrary

Sam, Sam, quite contrary,

bought a budgie,

wanted a canary.

Sam, Sam, quite contrary,

kissed Suzannah,

meant to kiss Mary.

Sam, Sam, quite contrary,

dressed as a pirate,

playing a fairy.

Sam, Sam, quite contrary,

ate dark chocolate,

says he likes dairy.

Sam, Sam, quite contrary,

shaved his head,

to make it hairy.

The Tale of Dotty Cuddletum

There was a young girl