My Bed Is an Air Balloon

Summary:

“When night falls my bed is an air balloon.
I sail through the slipsiverse, close by the moon.
I float above treetops where fluttertufts are sleeping
And flowering hills where the whifflepigs go creeping;
Ponds strung with starlight that glitter like glass,
A floog with her velvet nose bent to the grass. 
Such treasures I spy on! My bed in the trees
Swings me up high, like a circus trapeze.
Now the cool, night-rustling air
Slips through my finger-gaps, ripples my hair; 
Now we glide over water, the moon’s silver light
Blown by a cloudpuff into the bight,
Adrift on the sea where the dream-shapes float;
When night falls my bed is a sailing boat.

A beautifully presented picture book with two front covers, the text can be read from front to back and vice versa. The mirror form poem meets in the middle in a stunning centrepiece image as the two children in the story (twins, one in an air balloon, the other a sailing boat) meet in the clouds!” (Taken from publisher’s website)

Review:

I love when books play with the format – especially for kids as all books should be seen as toys for young children. In this book, the poem can be read from front to back or back to front with two different sets of illustrations for the same mirror poem. Kids will love the words used in the poem like “cloud-puffs” and “fluttertufts” and “whifflepigs“. And they’ll definitely want to search the illustrations for all these fun and interesting characters on each page.

I love when a picture book is actually a poem – what better way to introduce a writing format to kids than in a way they’re already familiar with? Most adults have bad memories of poetry in school, trying to figure out the deeper meaning, not understanding the words that are used. But, poetry can be so much more accessible than that and picture book make a great tool to introduce kids to poetry.

Final Thoughts:

A fun introduction to poetry and a great title to play with kids as they can choose to read this vocabulary-rich book from front-to-back or back-to-front!

Important Info:

Title: My Bed Is an Air Balloon
Author: Julia Copus
Illustrator: Alison Jay
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication Date: October 30, 2018