A rose without a stem A flame without a match A heart without a chest – Red Balloon is free To see the world from Up above. Floating slow Upon the breeze, it is The highest form of love. Those who see it Want to be it, Those who hear it Must be near it.…

Step through, step through, To Somewhere New, Where stories stalk And dreams come true. Step through to books Which never end, But store each word The moments send. Step through to worlds A thought apart, Where ideas spark And daydreams dart. Step through to folk All strange and weird, Who all blaze bright And none…

1. It takes a lot of wind for Bear To play on his euphonium. But now no friend will stand downwind, And if they are they moan at him. 2. Bear was born to play the horn And lead the band in song. When told he’d played a few bum notes He got it rather…

When a smile s  t  r  e  t  c  h  e  s your mouth and push                                                  pushes your cheeks wide it becomes altogether TOO BIG for your face and part of…

Never mistake a lion for an iron – you’d be sorry if you did. I grabbed its tail, Let out a wail, Then flat out ran and hid. — You’ve just read a World Lion Day Poem. [sc name=”Coffee”] Illustration courtesy and copyright Ric Lumb. See more of Ric’s work on his website.

A note of birthday parties are banners on a cupboard. A note of days out are open doors in a diary. A note of telephone numbers are blue sirens in pockets. A note of chores are red cards on the fridge. A note of receipts are baby birds in a purse. A note of shopping…

Do you wish you were an only child? Do siblings always drive you wild? Do you dream of being one not three? Do you think that “me” is better than “we”? Well spare a thought for mother pig, Twelve pink parcels make her big. Then what about poor darling bunny – Fourteen kids just isn’t…

Gruncle Auntma Mud and Dum Brister Sother Don Maughter Step-soster Undad Dather Bother and then you Sometimes families are all muxed ip and that’s just perfect too — [sc name=”Coffee”] Illustration courtesy and copyright of Jools Wilson.

One night the Stars, slippery with rain, dropped the Moon into a puddle. For a while the Moon lay happy. It looked up at the Stars and saw how beautiful they were. In all its years the Moon had never once looked up at the Stars, and so this was something new; something exciting. The…