THE DAY OUR TEACHER WENT BATTY. By Gervase Phinn. Illustrated by Chris Mould. Puffin, pound;4.99

WHAT WILL YOU WEAR TO GO SWIMMING? By Lois Rock. Lion, pound;4.99

THE FORSAKEN MERMAN AND OTHER STORY POEMS. Selected by Berlie Doherty. Illustrated by Nick Maland. Wayland, pound;4.99 (paperback)

A NEST FULL OF STARS. By James Berry. Illustrated by Rachel Merriman. Macmillan Children’s Books, pound;9.99

Here is a limb and I am about to go out on it: I don’t believe in poetry for children. There are poets (Charles Causley, Kit Wright, John Mole, Philip Gross, Walter de la Mare and others) whose work is enjoyed by readers of all ages, but anyone whose appeal is only to children may be writing many things but real poetry isn’t one of them. Gervase Phinn, for example, is a very amusing raconteur whose accounts of his days as a schools inspector in Yorkshire are best-sellers. His verse is good fun and teachers who are nervous of poetry in general and serious poetry in particular will fall on it with delight, but they should read him alongside something a little more demanding. There’s lots of jolly stuff in his new collection, but watch out for the sacrifice of grammar to the demands of the rhyme scheme: “The teacher (yes, I hear you sigh) Does not use words like you and I”.

This is typical of a lot of poetry for kids books which assume that children will respond only to verse that mirrors their everyday experience. Allan Ahlberg and Michael Rosen have written wonderfully and at length about school life; very few writers tackling this over-familiar material can compete.

Lois Rock’s book is, to judge by its layout, intended for use in assemblies. It comes from a religious publishing house; in my opinion children would benefit far more from daily readings from the King James Bible. These pieces are well meant, but will neither stretch pupils’

imagination nor show them what words can do.

Thank heavens, then, for the new compact paperback edition of Berlie Doherty’s wonderful gathering of story poems, from classics including “The Lady of Shallot” and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” to such terrific modern work as Kingsley Amis’s deliciously funny “Mr Simpson and his Cat”. There are ballads here, too, and their power comes across well. The illustrations add greatly to the pleasure of a book which would be a good addition to any school library, offering glimpses into worlds far removed from the classroom.

Finally, James Berry is a real poet and his new volume has all the richness and individuality of his other work. He takes us into his world, and talks to our senses in a simple but not silly way. His cricket poems are full of zest and energy and the picture we get of his Caribbean childhood is so lovingly detailed that we can slip right into his memories and share them. Lovely!