Blackbird Has Spoken
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Cover Story
This issue’s cover shows Jane Simmons’ popular character, Daisy, and her baby brother Pip. Two Daisy books with their ‘dynamic yet affectionate pictures’ full of painterly exuberance are reviewed in this issue. Thanks to Orchard Books for their help in producing this May cover.
Blackbird Has Spoken
It is good to see a new edition of Eleanor Farjeon's poems and in an accessible format for children. Farjeon wrote poems and songs in childhood and throughout her life and these warm, vital poems are worth revisiting. My only criticism of this edition is the prominence of the poem 'A Morning Song' on the book jacket and using the line 'Blackbird Has Spoken' for the title. Farjeon's poems are about anything and everything from cats and dreams to Pocahontas and street names. The title poem could mislead would-be readers into expecting rather old fashioned, faintly religious poems rather than the rich seam of poetry produced by Farjeon.