Dilys Rose’s new collection, When I wear My Leopard Hat, is an excellent book of poems for children. All the poems are very well written and nearly every one is about everyday things, which is good, because it means children can relate to them well.

I would say the book is aimed at an age range from fairly young to about eight years, but would humour most ages.

All the poems are really funny and most of them rhyme, which children enjoy. Another thing I noticed is that the poems are Scottish, which stands out well.

I particularly liked The Brontosaurus Crunch, which I think is catchy and children will like because it has a repeated chorus.

Some of the shorter poems are suitable for children to memorise and enjoy reciting in the school playground and with friends.

One of the other poems I really enjoyed was Day-Old Stubble, which is written about someone’s Dad getting up in the morning and going for a shave. When I read the poem, I got an image in my head of my Dad with a stubbly beard standing in front of a mirror with shaving cream on his face and a razor in his hand.

The illustrations by Gill Allan, like this one for a poem about someone’s Mum, are excellent and the book just wouldn’t be the same without them.

Overall I think this is a fantastic book and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I would give it a score of 10 out of 10.

Kirsty McGregor, Secondary 2, Perth Grammar School