Pam Ayres (now writes wildlife books for children!)
If you thought that poem Pam Ayres just wrote poems about looking after your teeth, know that these days, nearly all her writings are to inspire young readers to look after the animal kingdom.
She has recently released a beautiful set of four books, all to encourage children to learn about our native wildlife, and protect it and natural habitats:
I Am Hattie the Hare teaches how hares live in the countryside, what they eat and what their perfect habitats are – and how to tell them apart from rabbits (clue: longer legs and black ear-tips!)
I Am Oliver the Otter teaches about these playful creatures that hold hands when they are napping, so they don’t float away!
Children will be taken town to the river bank to find a friendly otter, who meets another otter, and his life changes forever..
I Am Emily the Owl follows a barn owl’s extraordinary journey through her life in the fields, looking for a new home since the loss of her cherished barn.
Learn how these graceful birds hunt for voles and mice, to take back to owlets in their cherished sanctuaries. Beautifully illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne. Includes an information spread on owls.
Did you ever see us, in these fields and grassy places?
Sensed our silent wings; glimpsed our exquisite heart-shaped faces?
I Am Dandy the Dormouse introduces children to one of England’s most endangered creatures, a tiny lovely little thing that sleeps most of the year, as long as it has enough hazelnuts to eat, while awake (to build up fat reserves).
Children will learn how they are born grey, but turn beautiful golden-brown on getting older, and due to sticky feet, can climb trees like acrobats!
More on Poet Pam Ayres
Known for her lovely rural accent, Pam Ayres is one of England’s most beloved poets, who has been blending words with humour for 50 years, since appearing on TV’s Opportunity Knocks. Her poems may seem fun, but the word rhymes are studies worldwide in schools!
Her career was actually in the women’s RAF so her newfound fame was almost accidental, leading her into another job. In her spare time, she rescues ‘featherless’ battery hens and nurtures them in her orchard.
Pam is particularly fond of hedgehogs, and angry about how they are losing natural habitats, and not appreciated. She has even written poems about our spiky friends:
If you’d have been a hedgehog’s friend,
You’d give your pond a shallow end.
Never more from dusk to dawn
Will we eat slugs on your lawn.
So little gratitude you’ve shown.
From now on, you can eat your own
