Mina and the Whole Wide World
A powerful story about a young girl, Mina, and how she copes when her family take in a refugee boy and give away what was meant to be her first very-own bedroom.
Mina wants her own bedroom more than anything else in the whole wide world. And it’s almost ready! Just one more lick of sunny yellow paint and it’s hers.
But when Mina’s parents take in an unexpected guest, they give her room away. At first, Mina is too upset to speak. She doesn’t care that this new boy, Azzami, needs a place to stay.
At school, the other kids call Azzami names, and Mina wishes he’d stand up for himself. Then she sees his drawings, and for the first time really thinks about the life of the quiet boy in front of her.
Here is a story about finding friendship where you least expect it and making room for everyone across this big wide world.
CBCA Notable Book 2022, and shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards in Nov 2022.
Motormouth
Since Chris lost his best mate, Dave, cars are all he really cares about. Then Josh Carter moves to town. His dad is a famous racing car driver and everyone wants to be Josh’s friend. But as Chris soon discovers, Josh is a bit of a motormouth, and that’s where the trouble begins . . .
A touching verse novel for boys and girls about loyalty, friendship and honesty.
Link to Penguin with buying options including e-book.
Now I Am Bigger (picture book)
‘Now I Am Bigger’ captures all the excitement and wonder of a small child’s world, when every day brings something new – new teeth, new words, new shoes, new bed – and every little change is very, very BIG. Each poem is full of rhythm and movement, with imagery and vivid language. Illustrated by Nina Rycroft. For more information on this book and poetry writing exercises, go here.
Book Depository Boomerang Books NZ and online via HarperCollins site
Runaways
The red balloon explodes
my blood runs hot
from skull to toes
I grab my bag and run.
Cassie and her brother, Jack, are on the run from the past, from the future, and from their failure of a family. Jack has been struggling, always in trouble, driving Mum mad. Then Dad arrives out of nowhere, flashing money around, and when he leaves, he takes Jack with him.
Cassie knows something is wrong, and then she gets a phone call from Jack, somewhere out of the Nullabor. She has to put Jack first, and runs to join him. But where can they go? And can you ever really run away?
Runaways is currently unavailable, I’m sorry. I do have a few copies if you contact me. Email me at sherryl @ poetry4kids.net
Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!)
I don’t fit
in my family
or at school
I have friends
but sometimes even they
think I’m weird.
I say dumb things
I wear stupid clothes
I can’t make my hair behave
some days the whole world
looks wrong to me.
A CBCA Honor Book Award winner 2008
Told in the form of a verse novel, Sherryl Clark brings to life all the beauty, vulnerability and pain of twelve-year-old emotions. Dawn doesn’t know where she belongs. It’s not with the style queens at school. And it’s not at home, where all her parents do is fight. Even her best friend, Emily, doesn’t seem to want to be best friends any more. With words that are more like snapshots, Sherryl lets us into Dawn’s world: a world that is dark at times, but can also feel like ‘sunlight’.
Sadly, this book is out of print. I hope to release it as an e-book soon.
Farm Kid
Farm is Mum and Dad, rising early.
Farm is milk truck, rumbling over bridge.
Farm is me, running wide and free.
The family farm is the only life Zack knows. To him it’s space, blue skies, cows, hay and the creek. But the drought has been going for more years than Zack can almost remember. Paddocks are bone dry, the dam is dried up and the cows are struggling.
When the bank decides to foreclose, it sets Zack’s family on a course that could change everything. This verse novel uses a variety of poem styles to tell a poignant, yet ultimately hopeful story of life on a farm during the worst of times.
I have a very few copies of Farm Kid available, and hope to publish it as an e-book soon. Email me at sherryl @ poetry4kids.net for more information.