Category: bookworm

KIDSBOOKS | THE ZEBRA-GIRAFFE

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, writingLeave a comment 
In a jungle in the Congo 
There lived the strangest beast 
He was called the Zebra-giraffe 
For the eyes he was a treat! 

He fed on grass and fruits and buds
And sometimes stems and leaves 
He was quite a vegetarian 
Keeping our planet green 

But Zebra-giraffe was upset 
Everyone had names of their own
While his was borrowed from  
Two cousins living far from home

So off he went on an adventure
To search for his true name 
He met the wise little pygmies
And told them of his aim 

They looked at him in wonder
And ooh’d and ahh’d away 
They’d never seen an animal 
Quite like him before today 

They praised his half-striped body
And admired his velvet fur 
They touched his lovely ossicones
They caused quite a stir! 

Then they had a meeting  
And decided finally 
This curious mix of animals 
Would  be called the Okapi 

So back he went to his jungle 
The happiest boy of all 
The Okapi finally had his name 
And that’s still what he is called.

KIDSBOOKS | TITI THE MYNAH BIRD

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, writingLeave a comment 
Titi is a Mynah bird
Who’s adopted my balcony
For her daily tidbits
And some sociability 

I feed her grapes and jammy bread
And Wyke’s mature cheddar
She warbles and honks in delight
Ruffling her tail feathers

I try sometimes to have her sit
Upon my outstretched hand
But she always flies away
Too afraid to land

One day I saw her fluttering 
Outside in the terrace
I went to see what was causing
The bird such great distress

There I spied her little one
Behind the potted palm
She was flapping her little wings
Trying to get airborne

I gently picked the fledgling up
Titi watched me nervously
And placed the baby on the floor
Near her momma’s feet

She’d brought her little birdie out
To teach her how to fly
And also to introduce her 
To the Treats Terrace in the sky

It was a lovely moment showing
how trusting Nature can be
When momma brought her little child 
To finally meet me.

KIDSBOOKS | QUIBBLE THE CATERPILLAR

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, writingLeave a comment 
LISTEN TO THE POEM BEING READ AT: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSeEkNtMV/
Quibble was a caterpillar 
Grumpy as they come
He’d scowl at all who came his way 
Always looking glum  

He’d eat his way through the leaves
Of the milkweed plants around him
He’d kick his brothers and sisters away 
If near him he found them 

He crunched and munched on and on 
Until his skin grew tight 
And he couldn’t lift a leg or six 
However hard he tried

He was extra grumpy now
Feeling like a balloon 
So he made himself a silken bed 
And thought he’d take a snooze 

He fussed and grumbled in his sleep
For twelve whole days and nights 
And then crawled out of bed legs first
Feeling blithe and feather-light 

Quibble wondered why he wasn’t 
Frowning at the world 
When suddenly he discovered 
His wings of black and gold

He spread them out joyfully 
And went soaring in the sky
Quibble the caterpillar was now 
Monarch the butterfly

KIDSBOOKS | THE EGG-CEPTIONAL OVAL DOVAL

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, poetry, writingLeave a comment 
Oval Doval was an egg
And what an egg he was
With his smooth and shiny shell
He was the loveliest egg you saw

He was round and handsome 
Nothing about him was lean
He was much wiser than his uncle 
Humpty Dumpty had ever been 

He would roll around the park 
But would not play with a ball 
He knew that if it bounced on him
He would break, yolk and all 

He also would not climb 
Walls and fences with his friends 
His uncle had a great big fall 
And had broken his big egg head

So Oval whirled and twirled all day
While staying on the ground 
Smiling happily at everyone
Bobbing his big head around 

Then one day a crow flying by
Pecked him on the nose  
Oval said “if you’d nibbled my head 
I’d be fried egg on toast!”

KIDSBOOKS | THE COLOURBLIND ORANGE

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, poetry, writingLeave a comment 
There was once an Orange 
Who thought that he was green
He often wondered why they called him 
Orange. Couldn’t they see? 

He also wondered what the colour
Orange looked and felt like 
So he asked his friend, Watermelon 
To help him see and decide 

Watermelon thought so hard
His seeds jumped up and down
Then suddenly they froze in place 
There was a solution he had found!

He would show Orange his face
In a mirror on the wall
Then Orange would finally know 
What the colour orange looked like after all

So they both rolled up to the glass
And stared at their reflections 
Orange said “See, I’m green too” 
“We are both of us watermelons!”

KIDSBOOKS| DRAGZO THE DRAGONFLY

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, poetry, writingLeave a comment 
Dragzo was a dragonfly 
The naughtiest one there was
He loved to jump from high places
And turn mid-air somersaults

One day he went to the jungle cafe
To get some snacks to eat 
He ate his body weight of food
It was quite a feast!

Then feeling energetic 
He thought he’d play some tricks
So he droned on Senor Gecko’s face 
And nibbled at his cheeks

He climbed up Lady Bug’s antenna
To count her lovely spots
He liked them so much in fact 
He tried to steal the lot

Lady Bug shook her head 
And threw naughty Dragzo off 
He spread his shining wings out wide 
And gave her a cheeky laugh

Daddy dragonfly walked in then 
And caught his naughty son 
He put him to bed and then he said  
‘My boy, that is enough fun!’

From the dragonfly family pond
We bid you all good night 
Hugs and kisses all around 
Tuck yourselves in tight

KIDSBOOKS | PATTY HILL THE PLATYPUS

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, poetry, writingLeave a comment 
There was once a platypus 
Her name was Patty Hill
Her tail was like a beaver’s 
And her mouth like a duck’s bill 

She had two eggs that hatched into 
A little girl and a boy
She’d sweat out milk for them to drink
And sing them lullabies

She lived in a little den 
By the riverside 
And when she went to look for food 
With dirt she’d plug it tight 

She’d tuck her children into bed
While she went out to fish  
Shrimp and caterpillars 
Were her all time favourite dish 

One day she came home to find 
A mean old water snake
He was sniffing out her kids
To put into his cake 
 
Patty Hill growled at him 
And stung him with her spur 
He got so scared he dropped his skin 
And slid back to the river 

So if you’re ever by the lake  
And see a beaver with a bill 
Be sure to wave hello to her
It could be Patty hill

KIDSBOOKS| THE RIP VAN WINKLE POEM

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, writingLeave a comment 
Rip Van Winkle 
He was a funny man 
And every time he got some beans 
He always wanted jam

One day he went to the market 
To buy some pecans and corn 
But when he got back home 
He saw that they were gone

His wife was very angry 
And boxed his big red ears 
He lay down for a little nap 
And slept for fifty years

So if you see an old man now
with a beard down to his knees 
You’ll know it’s Winkle woken from
His half century of sleep

Don’t dawdle but just quickly say 
Hello sir and goodbye!
He may not know if you’re a boy or a girl
Or a delicious pecan pie!

KIDSBOOKS| THE LITTLE MOTH ORCHID

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, poetry, writingLeave a comment 
There was once an orchid 
With beautiful white flowers
She loved lots of sunshine 
And gentle rain showers 

Her petals looked like little moths
Fluttering in the breeze
She lived between two branches 
Of the great banyan tree
 
The bigger plants were kind to her
And let her play with them
She’d sway her snowy flowers about 
And shake her leafy stem

One day it rained so very hard 
Moth orchid was quite drenched 
Her head of flowers hung down low 
Touching the wooden bench 

The plants around her tried to help 
But could not pick her up 
She drooped towards the bench some more 
And there her stem got stuck 

When the rain finally stopped
The gardener shuffled out 
He saw poor Mothy on the bench 
And took her in the house 

He put her in some coconut husk 
And kept her indoors for a day  
Then put her back on the banyan tree 
Where she still lives, grows and plays.

KIDSBOOKS| THE UNHAPPY CLOUD

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, writingLeave a comment 
Glumbus Bean was a sad little cloud
All day he’d cry his little eyes out
While his other friends played fun games in the sky
Glumbus would sit by himself and cry 

One day while he was howling away
And sneezing out cold sleet 
Mr Gale-Force-Wind came rushing in
On speedy, nimble feet 

He looked at Glumbus’s wet face 
And tumbled around with laughter 
I’ve never seen a nimbus cloud 
Who did a great job and sobbed after!

You are the rainy season cloud
And naturally you cry 
But these are not unhappy tears 
That’s just the way you fly! 

You’re the best little Cloud School student 
That I have ever seen 
So keep your rainy rivers flowing  
You’re an ace, Glumbus Bean!

Glumbus Bean smiled happily 
All over his cloudy face 
It pitter-pattered rain that day 
As he skipped about the place.