KIDSBOOKS | ROLLER THE PANGOLIN

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, writingLeave a comment 
Roller was a pangolin who lived in a Kapok tree
He’d sleep all day snoring away and wake up at three
Then he’d look up at the sky and see the sun still bright
He’d roll back into a ball, and sleep until the night

When the moon was overhead and the stars were twinkling too
Roller would roll out of bed, thinking of his food
He had no teeth to brush, so he’d just wash his little face
Then he’d smile toothlessly and shine his beautiful scales 

In the night he would go out, insects on his mind
His all time favourite foods were crunchy ants and termites
He’d use his long, long tongue to catch all his insect prey
And since he had no teeth, he’d swallow them straightaway

Roller would have loved to sing but he could only hiss
So once he’d eaten all he could, he’d hiss in total bliss
He’d roam around the forest floor, sticking his tongue out
Hissing at a Kapok tree and sometimes even a rock 

This quirky looking animal puzzled many folks
Some wondered if he was in fact a moving artichoke
Others thought he looked like a pinecone with feet
There were many theories about this funny beast

Then one day some poachers came to steal Roller away
They wanted his lovely scales to sell on market day
But Roller’s secret hollow tree wasn’t easily found
So there he still lives today, happy as a clown.

KIDSBOOKS | THE BLUSHING TOMATO

On By Mahvash K. M.In bookworm, kidlit, Kidsbooks, writingLeave a comment 
Better-Boy* was a tomato 
His head still had its stem
He was always blushing red 
When someone spoke to him 

His grandma held a record 
For having the most children
She was in the Guinness Book
And also on television

He wished he was more confident 
Like the olive oil and the rice   
But every time he tried to speak 
He’d get very tongue-tied

He sat among the onions 
And the garlic on the counter 
They’d peel their layers in his face 
He’d cry at each encounter 

How he wished he had some friends 
That smelled all nice and fruity 
Who wouldn’t tease him quite so much 
Making his soft insides all woozy

One day a man brought out a bowl 
Into which he placed some fruit 
Bananas, oranges and grapes 
And yippee! Better-Boy too

He smiled at his new friends  
Blushing even redder 
Better-Boy was finally home 
With his fruity brothers and sisters
* Better Boy: A type of a tomato, the Better Boy has been in existence for more than 50 years and is a Guinness record holder for amount of fruit produced from a single plant.

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 | POTTY-MOUTH THE WC

On By Mahvash K. M.In writingLeave a comment 
There was once a flush toilet
His name was Potty-mouth
He sat in a corner in the loo
Facing the sunny south

His other friends, the Sink and Tub
Would laugh at silly jokes 
But Potty-mouth, with his constant pout
Was just a sad sad bloke

Every time that he was flushed
He would sniffle in despair
Leaking tearfully into his bowl
And fogging up the air

The others asked him why so sad
To which he’d say to them
You would be too if someone pooped
All over your porcelain

One day a man came into the loo
And removed Potty from his place
The sink and tub were puzzled
Where was he taking their mate?

A few days later they heard a shout
From the window of the loo
They peeked out and saw Potty mouth
Painted a beautiful sky blue

Summer flowers were blooming away 
Daisies, petunias and cosmos 
They stood tall in his porcelain bowl 
He was now a lovely little flower pot

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 | GRIZZLY BROWN AND MISS LORENZ

On By Mahvash K. M.In writingLeave a comment 
There was once a little girl
Who lived in a cozy cave 
She could climb up trees and dive 
And was also very brave 

One day she saw a big fat bear 
Who growled to be let in
But she was firm, this was her home  
Growling back louder than him 

He was so very surprised 
That he dropped his furry coat 
And stood there in the forest 
Looking like a billy goat

She felt sorry for the bear
Who sat coatless on the floor 
So she picked up his fallen fur
And led him through the door

Then she made the shivering beast
Sit down on a chair 
While she sewed the big brown coat
Back onto the bare bear

He was happy that he’d got 
Back his winter coat 
He now looked bear-ish again
And not like a silly billy goat

So then the little girl 
And the bear became good friends 
She called him Grizzly Brown 
And he called her Miss Lorenz

Every day the two would play
For hours upon hours 
Exploring their jungle home
And having big adventures 

When the stars twinkled up high
And the sun sank down below 
Each would say “Goodnight my friend, 
I will see you tomorrow!”

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!