KIDSBOOKS | THE HAPPY SUBMARINE

There was once a little sub 
He was called Eleos*-Blue
His daddy had swum in world war One
His mummy in world war two

He had grown up being taught
That his role was to fight
To carry sailors in deep waters
Where there was zero light

His little body had been trained
To dive in extra deep
Sharks and squids and anglerfish
Would never make that trip

But in his tinny tiny heart
The little sub didn’t like
The grownup chore that they called war
He was a happy little tyke

When the admirals saw that he
Would beam with the purest joy
Everytime he was visited
By a little girl or boy

They took him to the water park
And put him in the pool
And there he still swims happily
There never was a sub so cool!
* Eleos: In ancient Athens, Eleos was the personification of mercy and compassion – the counterpart of the Roman goddess Clementia.

KIDSBOOKS | THE CHEEKY GALA

There was once an apple 
The Gala variety
She would preen and pose all day
For all the world to see

The other apples told her
To be fruity and be kind
To watch the world quietly
But Gala paid no mind

One day while the apples
Sat in the produce aisle
A naughty little child came by
With a naughty little smile

They looked at him quietly
Maybe he’d go away
But Gala preened, oh she beamed
She loved being on display!

The little boy saw the apples
And almost passed them by
But then as she did a little jig
Cheeky Gala caught his eye

He pounced on the dancing fruit
She would be his lunch
Your imagination should tell you that
The next sound was a - “Crunch”!

KIDSBOOKS | THE WONKY TOY BLOCK

There was once a toy block 
The kind that’s in a set
Of twenty blocks all sharp and square
Some blue and others red

Bendy Block stood starkly out
Because she was quite grey
She also had one dented edge
That made her lean sideways

While the other blocks climbed up
To build a tunnel or a house
Bendy would lean back and watch
As timid as a mouse

She’d straighten to ninety degrees
From the surface where she sat
But within a minute or two
She’d slowly lean right back

One day the building blocks all heard
A loud crash from within
The family photo had fallen down
With a mighty gust of wind

The glass was whole but the stand
Had broken into two
The lady tried to mend the break
With a tube of super glue

But that didn’t work so she looked
Around for inspiration
She spied the bendy little block
And used it for elevation

The photo with its smiling faces
Stands again up on the dresser
Bendy is the happy prop
As the frame now leans back on her.

KIDSBOOKS | THE LONELY SNOWMAN

There was once a snowman 
He had a heart of gold
He had stood in that one cold spot
For a hundred years or more

He had not seen sign or form
Of any man or beast
And so he had just waited on
Patient and solitary

It was over a century
Of his being in the expanse
That he saw the shadow of …
Could it be? Yes, a man!

He tried to wiggle his carrot nose
But it was frozen solid
Just like his eyes and his mouth
So he focused his energy inwards

He thought of jolly polar bears
And penguins in the sun
And then he thought of ice cream
Chocolate seemed like fun!

With all these happy musings
He started melting inside out
The little trickle from his eyes
Became a gushing spout

The man then saw the snowman
And came up close to him
He held a little cup up
And had a little drink

Then he took his scarf off and
Gently wrapped it around
The shrinking neck; it was a thank you said
For the kindness he had found.

KIDSBOOKS | THE SORROWFUL NUMBER SIX

There was once a lonely 6
Who lived with all the 9s
He was always bullied
For his minus three design

The 9s would throw mathematical
Enigmas out at him
“3 times 3 or 5 plus 4
Will never be your thing!”

6 would mope around all day
Adding and multiplying
Sometimes standing on his head
In hopes of becoming 9

But a solid 6 he stayed
Not budging to even 7
Despite using big numbers
Like 17 minus 11

Then one day a little girl
Came and sat at one of the desks
She was all of 6 years old
With 6 curls on her forehead

When the teacher asked her to
Choose her favourite number
She pointed to 6, and then counted it
Out on her little fingers

That special day the whole class drew
Pictures of the number 6
Amid bright flowers and super powers
On every page he skipped.

KIDSBOOKS | THE ELEGANT DUO

Shelby was a graceful snail 
Folks said he had blue blood
His shell had a lovely turquoise tinge
He buffed it with wax and gloves

From leafy shrubs to the ground
He’d slither and he’d glide
He’d peer at all who came his way
With a monocle on his left eye

He never spoke to anyone
Not the earthworms nor the flies
The lady snails and the misses slugs
Looked on with great big sighs

But master Shelby stayed aloof
His heart was not a prize
To give to pretty girls who would
Gaze at him with roving eyes

One day while he was gliding along
With his monocle and cravat
He saw the most exquisite toad
With an umbrella and bowler hat

He slowly moved his eye stalks
In gracious acknowledgment
He was a toad with taste, so he made haste
To say hello to the gentleman

It has now been five years since
That elegant friendship was made
Shelby Snail and Toad O’Toole
Are still the very best of mates.

KIDSBOOKS | THE GREEDY MARMOSET

There once lived a marmoset 
On the edge of the Amazon rain forest
He was especially friendly,
He loved all of the tourists

Mangoes and bananas
Would always lure him out
He would greedily pop these
Into his little mouth

His parents often told him
“Be thoughtful little son,
Don’t be such a greedy glut
With your sisters do share some”

But Marny and his tummy
They had other plans
And so he ate and ate until
He was three hundred grams

One day while sitting in a tree
Waiting for folks with treats
A harpy eagle spotted him
And plunged down, ready to feast!

As Marny scrambled to escape
His tummy got in the way
The raptor would have snatched him up
But his mummy saved the day

They say Marny is a changed primate
A sweet, generous furball
He meets and greets his visitors
And then shares his food with all.

KIDSBOOKS – COLOURS | RAVEN

Brightened by the glimmer of stars
I am the shadowy shade of the night
I am the colour of the mysterious cat
All you can see of her are her eyes

I’m the colour of the scuttling beetle
Of the bear that lives in a cave
I’m the hue of the berries that he eats
I’m like the panther, sleek and brave

I’m the colour of the birds that caw-caw
And watch you with a beady eye
I’m like some of the cars that ply the road
Not red nor blue nor white.

I’m the colour of coffee and chimpanzees
Maybe the colour of your backpack
I’m deep, I’m dark, I have a magical spark
I am the majestic colour BLACK.

KIDSBOOKS – COLOURS | ACORN

Almonds and walnuts, cholocate and ginger
All share the colour that I am
Woodchucks that chuck wood, baskets and bagels
I am the colour of a beaver dam

I am the colour of the moose and the swaying camel
The ruddy duck and the wolverine,
Wood and toast, I am the colour of roast
The garden snail and the centipede

I am the colour of the giant fin whale
And of your sweet little sun-kissed face
I may even be the colour of the desk on which
All your favourite books are placed.

I am the colour of well loved teddy bears
Bearded dragons and kiwi birds
I am all around, from beige to BROWN
I am the beautiful colour of the earth

KIDSBOOKS – COLOURS | GRAPEFRUIT

I am the colour of cherry blossoms 
And of the beautiful magnolia
I’m like the onion, chopping which is no fun
I’m also the sweet flesh of the guava

Himalayan salt and the Pygmy seahorse
Are the colour of your little tongue
Which is the same as the river dolphin
I’m also the colour of bubble gum

I’m the color of lychees and the guppy fish
Turnips and the galah cockatoo
I’m also the colour of some sea anemones
They don’t have brains like me and you!

I’m the colour of ripe raspberries
Of the lotus and the carnation
I’m the hints of health on your little face
I am the delicate colour pink

KIDSBOOKS – COLOURS | ARCTIC

I am the colour of cold winter days
When the snow falls in big flakes
I’m the colour of the graceful swan
The seagull and the beluga whale

I’m also half of a panda’s colours
Of clouds and vanilla ice cream
Persian cats and cauliflowers
And the sweet smelling jasmine

I’m the colour of your pearly teeth
That you brush well twice a day
I’m the colour of rice and milk
And also of the polar bear

I’m the shade of the coat of a billy goat
Of dandelions and ice
I am the dazzle of daytime brightness
I am the gleaming colour WHITE

KIDSBOOKS – COLOURS | PERIWINKLE

I am the colour of the dancing peacock 
And also of the humpback whale
I’m the delicate shade of a robin’s eggs
I am the colour of the racer snake

I’m like the cresting and falling ocean
I’m the shades of a summer sky
I’m the colour of the planet Neptune
As it orbits up on high

I’m the color of your little hands when
They’ve held these Smarties too long
I’m the colour of some millipedes,
Of macaws and the moor frog

The emperor butterfly lifts off
In lovely shades of this hue
The earth itself when seen from afar
Is this incredible colour BLUE.