Where My Wellies Take Me

Stunningly drawn, it makes you want to rush outside as it evokes the joy and glory of being in the fresh air. * The Sunday Times *

A highly-illustrated book, a collection of 40 poems, a celebration of childhood, exploration and discovery, presented exquisitely as a child's scrapbook.
In the book we follow Pippa, who is visiting her Aunty Peggy, as she takes a long walk through the countryside, going where ever her Wellies take her. As the journey unfolds we experience the idyllic surroundings, rolling hills, village churches, farm animals grazing. We see the rich variety of wildlife and the different people Pippa encounters along the way.
Each poem in the book has been carefully chosen by Clare and Michael Morpurgo to complement each part of the story.
The book is a treasure trove of inspiration; it truly is a work of art. It is filled with maps, cuttings, pull out pages, observational drawings, landscapes, portraits and tracing paper pages that mask and reveal glorious illustrations alongside beautifully written poetry.
The possibilities and potential for using this book as a teaching and learning resource are boundless. My wife is a secondary school art teacher and wants to use the book to model how to use sketchbooks.
As a primary school teacher, I see it as a tool to instil an early love of poetry in the children I teach. It think it will be a great stimulus for whole units of work. I am inspired by this book! Ideas are rushing through my head about how I am going to use it to teach across the curriculum: Discovery walks around the local area, map reading, sketch book work, drawing with charcoals and pastels, using mixed media, photography, collage, flower pressing, poetry reading, diary entries, local history, living things and their habitats, figurative language, observational studies, life cycles and all presented in their very own personal scrapbooks.

-- James Syner * Magpiethat *