Poetry
Issue 2
Contents A Word.......................................................................................3 Owl.............................................................................................4 Breakfast for Twenty-Three Cats..........................................5 Stanley the Spider’s Secret Life.............................................6 A Shark in Kensington Park..................................................7 My Horse...................................................................................8 Dolphins....................................................................................9 Orang-Utan.............................................................................10 Dragonfly.................................................................................11 Utter Nonsense.......................................................................12 The Search for Self.................................................................13 Rendell Was Remarkably Dextrous...................................14 A Cruel Murder......................................................................15 Snow.........................................................................................16 Mid-Winter Poem..................................................................17 My Bed.....................................................................................18 The Scrumbler........................................................................19 The Scrumbler’s Poetry Workshop.....................................20 Roses.........................................................................................22 Flying........................................................................................24 Song of Increasing Disorganisation...................................25 My Story..................................................................................26 El Arbol de Poetas (Tree of Poets) .....................................27 The World Is My Body..........................................................28 Where Do You Call Home?................................................29 A Drop in the Ocean............................................................30 Space Doubt............................................................................31 Night Driver...........................................................................32 How to Send in Your Work.................................................33 How to Order.........................................................................34 Order Form.............................................................................35 Contributors...........................................................................36 Acknowledgements...............................................................38
Issue 2 Managing editor / Design / Layout: Resident Artist: Editorial Assistance: Cover:
Mike Kavanagh Emelie Trevena-Jackson Sarah Kavanagh Emelie Trevena-Jackson
Printed in England by Ashford Colour Press, Ltd. Huge thanks to...
Miranda Vernon, Luke Murphy, Sarah Kavanagh, all the wonderful writers and artists who have contributed to this issue of the magazine, our subscribers, and readers. Thanks for your support! Copyright © Kavanagh Publishing Limited, 2010. The right of Michael Kavanagh to be identified as the compiler of this magazine has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Front cover by Emelie Trevena-Jackson, copyright © Emelie Trevena-Jackson, 2010, used by permission of the artist. Back cover illustration by Michael Kavanagh, copyright © Michael Kavanagh, 2010, used by permission of the artist. The acknowledgements on page 38 constitute an extension to this copyright page. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited. The Scrumbler is a publication of Kavanagh Publishing Limited, registered business address 42 Woodstock Rd East, Begbroke, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, OX5 1RG. The Scrumbler is published three times a year. We gratefully accept submissions of poetry and illustrations from people of any age. If you would like to illustrate, you should email samples of their work. We don’t have submission deadlines, but as the magazine is put together every four months, there may be some delay in responding to submissions, even if work is accepted. The Scrumbler will accept advertising if it relates to children’s literature, reading, or education (for example, a bookshop, new poetry collection, literary festival). Please email for rates (submissions@thescrumbler.com). The Scrumbler is an independent magazine dedicated to publishing the very best poetry for children. We mix the work of all age groups, and amateur and professional poets and artists with the aim of respecting the voices of all. If you want to help support our mission of spreading creative writing and celebrating the unique voices of children, please consider subscribing. For more information, see our website or the information at the back of the magazine. Website: www.thescrumbler.com
ISSN: 2041-5001
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A Word... Yawn! Stretch….. Aaaaaaah... Pardon me, I think I just fell asleep in front of the fire. Oops, I’ve fallen asleep on top of a poem. I’ve scrumbled it to bits. Now…how did it go?
Where was I? Ah, yes. Welcome in. It’s the second issue of the magazine, and I’m pleased as pickles to present these pages packed full of poems and pictures. In this issue we’ve got a gang of imaginative animals, a band of clownish characters, and a smattering of creative wanderings for you to relish. I hope you spend as much delicious time as you can curled up with your copy of The Scrumbler, and a grandparent, mum, dad, dog, or duvet to keep you warm. I hope the poems in this issue inspire you to write some yourself. Have a go at the writing exercise on page 20 for some ideas. Please write to me any time you like, with your thoughts and poems. I’ll be right here bumbling and scrumbling about with words and pictures, my favourite things in the world. See you in the next issue! The Scrumbler
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Owl Silent feather light wings. No sound as the barn owl glides through the night sky cutting through the air like a knife cutting cheese. All the time his big owl eyes searching the ground for his supper. Circling round and round in flight his eyes fixed to the field. Suddenly he changes his movement and darts down, claws outstretched catching the mouse in the blink of an eye and soaring upwards to the big Oak tree settling on a branch and folding back his wings to swallow his mouse. He hears a fox looking for his supper too and cocks his head before wheeling back into the night sky for more.
By Molly Kavanagh, age 10, England Illustrated by Emelie Trevena -Jackson, England
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Breakfast for Twenty-Three Cats Old Missus Bats had twenty-three cats And one little parrot named Pete. First she fed Pete, who started to tweet, And then she fed Whiskers and Skeet. Then she fed Cuddles, then Pebbles and Muddles, Then Mittens and Molly and Mooch. Then she fed Patch, who gave her a scratch, And lost his whole breakfast to Scooch. Next she fed Minx, then Trouble and Jinx, Then Tilly and Tubby and Moe. Then Casanova, then Pat and Pavlova, Then Muggins and Marmalade Joe. Then Little John, and last was Old Tom Who’d waited and waited to eat. But now he was no longer hungry at all, For Tom had just gobbled up Pete. By Nick Murphy Illustrated by Shane Casey, England
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Contributors Liz Brownlee has an MA from Bath Spa University in writing for young people. She loves animals (including her husband, daughter, son, cat and dog), poetry (60 poems in anthologies) reading, eating chocolate and laughing. A book full of her animal poems is planned for 2011, published by Iron Press www.ironpress.co.uk Liz’s website is www.poetlizbrownlee.co.uk. Shane Casey is a Bristol-based illustrator, animator, designer and artist. He enjoys experimenting with everything from screen-printing to motion graphics. He might never draw another cat again, but maybe a shark. Geraldine Clarkson lives and teaches in the Midlands and writes poetry for children and adults. Graham Denton is a widely published children’s poet, whose work has featured in over 30 publications. As an anthologist, his collections include ‘Silly Superstitions’ (Macmillan Children’s Books), ‘Wild! Rhymes that Roar’ (Macmillan Children’s Books), ‘Orange Silver Sausage’ (Walker Books), and most recently ‘My Cat is in Love with the Goldfish’ (A&C Black). Alison Grinney has three children and two grandchildren. She has just finished her first collection of adult poetry, ‘The Fossil Collector’s Pocket’. Her poems have appeared in The Cannon’s Mouth, Christ Church University’s magazine, and Canterbury Poet of the Year Magazine. She has an MA in Modern Victorian literature, and has attended master classes with Carol Ann Duffy and Gillian Clarke. Alison currently lectures on poetry at Canterbury Christ Church University, England. Emily Hicks is (almost) 12. She enjoys reading, writing, drawing, singing, and acting. She was born in Oxford, where she’s lived ever since, though she and her parents also spend a lot of time in their holiday house in Scotland. She is home-educated, and is currently learning the guitar with her dad. Lucy Kavanagh is 7 years old and lives in Oxfordshire, England. She loves drawing, reading, gymnastics and playing with her Sylvanian animals. Michael Kavanagh is a Canadian poet based in Oxfordshire, England. Mike’s poetry has been published in London Magazine, Fire, the online magazine nthposition.com, and the anthologies Poems for Children (Oxfam), Read Me At School (MacMillan), and Michael Rosen’s A-Z, The Best Children’s Poetry From Agard to Zephaniah. Molly Kavanagh is 10 years old. She was born in Canada and moved to England when she was three months old. She lives with her mum, dad, brother and sister, a dog called Arlo, two cats, Orlando and Grace and three chickens. She loves sailing, reading the Famous Five and other adventure stories. Aditi Laddha I was born in October 1996. I live in India and study in class 8th in The Shishukunj International School. I love spicy food. I am fond of songs. I wish to make the world a better place to live in. I love to read books & I love books with a lot of colourful illustrations. They inspire me a lot. I wish to become a famous illustrator when I grow up. I work as illustrator for Stone Soup magazine, I am a regular illustrator for Stories for Children Magazine an online magazine. To find out more about Aditi and her work, visit her site: http://www.aditi.thexclusivearts.com/
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Rob Macindoe lives in a thatched cottage, very close to the White Horse. He is ten years old, loves anything to do with the outdoors and lives with his mum, his sister and his chocolate labrador. John Malone is a former English teacher at Adelaide secondary schools who has done much work in schools since retiring, reading his poems, and running poetry writing workshops. He has performed at childrens literary festivals and has had over 150 childrens poems published in Australia, NZ and the US. His new book , ‘Big Blue Mouth’ is now out. He loves writing poems. Leanne Murphy, aged 36, lives in Beechworth, a small Australian town at the heart of Ned Kelly country. Formerly a music teacher and puppeteer, she now loves veggie gardening, painting, writing poetry and making music. She has recorded two CDs of her own songs, Portal (2003) and Home Grown (2009). Nick Murphy was born in Ireland and currently lives in London with his wife Vicki and cat Minx. He is a screenwriter, but also spends his time yo-yo-ing, making pancakes, and going upstairs to get things and then forgetting what he went up there to get. Eduardo Puerta, Alvaro Sacristan, David G. G., and Javier Martin are students at IES Emilio Ferrari, a secondary school in Valladolid, Spain. These students are a part of the bilingual project in the school; this means they have nearly all of their lessons in English, usually with a native language assistant. Last year, they studied many different styles of poetry, including haikus, couplets and limericks and they each produced their own poetry book filled with their inventions. Michael Swan writes books about English. He finds life rather confusing, and enjoys poetry because it helps him to understand what it’s all about. He particularly likes writing poems for children – they know that you need to be silly from time to time. Adults often forget. Sarah Swift is half South African, she lives in England and was born in 2001. She writes poetry mainly about animals and has a pet gerbil called Digger. Sarah is home educated and enjoys reading the Horrid Henry books by Francesca Simon. She has two mad dogs called Poppy and Patty. Emelie Trevena-Jackson was born in 1974 and grew up in Ibiza, England and Sweden. To this day she is inspired by Swedish fairy tales. Emelie studied art and design at Chelsea Art College and lives in the Cotswolds in England with her husband. She exhibits her paintings regularly. Visit her website at www.trevenajackson.com. Amelia Vecchietti is 9 years old and lives in Oxford. When not at school she enjoys reading and writing stories and poems as well as attending ballet, street dance, piano and violin lessons. She loves animals and has a pet hamster called Harry. Tony Walbran lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two young sons. He enjoys writing short stories and poems and has won a number of prizes for both. Tony’s poetry has been published in a number of magazines (both hard copy and online) and he is an editor of the online poetry journal Pirene’s Fountain. Edel Wignell is a freelance writer, compiler and journalist, writing for both adults and children. Her latest title is Big Eyes, Scary Voice, illustrated by Carl Pearce (Tamarind Books, UK/ Random House Australia). Jokes and the madness of the English language often inspire the writing of humorous and nonsense verse.
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Acknowledgements The editor gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint copyright material in this magazine. ‘Orang-utan’ and ‘Dragonfly’ by Liz Brownlee, copyright © Liz Brownlee, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Rendell Was Remarkably Dextrous’ by Geraldine Clarkson, copyright © Geraldine Clarkson, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Space Doubt’ by Graham Denton from Shouting at the Ocean published by Hands Up Books 2009, copyright © Graham Denton, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘A bird in the tree’ by David G. G., copyright © David G. G., 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Stanley the Spider’s Secret Life’ by Alison Grinney, copyright © Alison Grinney, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘A Cruel Murder’ and ‘My Story’ by Emily Hicks, copyright © Emily Hicks, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Dolphins’ by Lucy Kavanagh, copyright © Lucy Kavanagh, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Owl’ by Molly Kavanagh, copyright © Molly Kavanagh, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘My Horse’ by Rob Macindoe, copyright © Rob Macindoe, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Mid-Winter Poem’ and ‘Night Driver’ by John Malone appeared in The School Magazine (New South Wales, Australia), copyright © John Malone, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘I have a very big green tree’ by Javier Martin, copyright © Javier Martin, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘The World Is My Body’ and ‘Where Do You Call Home?’ by Leanne Murphy, copyright © Leanne Murphy, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Breakfast for Twenty-three Cats’ and ‘A Shark in Kensington Park’ by Nick Murphy, copyright © Nick Murphy, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Nobody knows nothing now’ and ‘When I go into the forest’ by Eduardo Puerta, copyright © Eduardo Puerta, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Yellow smelly leaves’ by Alvaro Sacristan, copyright © Alvaro Sacristan, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘My Bed’ and ‘Song of Increasing Disorganisation’ by Michael Swan, copyright © Michael Swan, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Roses’ and ‘The Scrumbler’ by Sarah Swift, copyright © Sarah Swift, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘Snow’ by Amelia Vecchietti, copyright © Amelia Vecchietti, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘The Search for Self ’ by Tony Walbran appeared in Orbit, the New South Wales School Magazine, 2008 and ‘Utter Nonsense’ by Tony Walbran, copyright © Tony Walbran, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author; ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ and ‘Flying’ by Edel Wignell, copyright © Edel Wignell, 2009, reprinted by permission of the author. All illustrations are copyright © the illustrators as identified on individual pages, 2009, used by permission of the illustrators.
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Issue 2
Contributors Liz Brownlee ◉ Shane Casey ◉ Geraldine Clarkson ◉ Graham Denton ◉ Alison Grinney ◉ Emily Hicks ◉ Lucy Kavanagh ◉ Michael Kavanagh ◉ Molly Kavanagh ◉ Aditi Laddha ◉ Rob Macindoe ◉ John Malone ◉ Leanne Murphy ◉ Nick Murphy ◉ Eduardo Puerta ◉ Alvaro Sacristan ◉ David G. G. ◉ Javier Martin ◉ Michael Swan ◉ Sarah Swift ◉ Emelie Trevena-Jackson ◉ Amelia Vecchietti ◉ Tony Walbran ◉ Edel Wignell
The Scrumbler floats in your head, like a bee in a tree free and wild. In a child let it go wild with poetry. By Sarah Swift, age 8, England
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