Reviews of When I Wear my Leopard Hat
An utterly delightful collection of poetry for younger children. There is no special Saltire-waving, linguistic or otherwise in these bouncy, cheery verses, though Scottishness pervades them (as in 'Kelly and Nelly had a day at Portobelli', or 'In Crail I met a snail, in Capercleuch I lost a tooth'). Mostly, however, childhood pervades them: the grumpy mood of a toddler, the endearments of a daddy, the magic of balloons and pyjama zippers. The fun and rhythm and imaginative simplicity draw the young reader in. Let four-year-olds and above loose on them, and they will be declaiming sonnets in your long-suffering ear in no time.
Scotsman
This book of poems is probably suitable for children up to about my age (11 years old). It covers all the sorts of things we like. There are poems about children, the things we like to do, the things we imagine, the things we like to eat and things that make us messy.
There are also poems about adults and parents and how we all get on together. I like this because it seems like typical family life. And, of course, there are lots of poems about animals, pets and wild ones, being silly.
One of my favourite poems is 'Ratty Toddler Rap' which is about being out shopping. My favourite lines in it are:
I'm stamping in puddles
And scowling at a log
I'm sticking out my tongue
At a wee yappy dog.
Another one is called 'When I'm Bigger' and my favourite line in it is:
In shops I'll look but I won't touch.
This is still a bit of a problem for me!
I like the layout of the book and the pictures are very clear and illustrate the poems well. The book is very enjoyable if you are in a happy mood. I think lots of Edwin and Oskar readers would enjoy it. Maybe even some silly adults!
Hal Jacobs, age 11
(Dumfries and Galloway Standard)