A deeply personal story written by the award winning poet Joseph Coelho, drawn from his own experience growing up in an apartment block and looking for adventure. This story is a celebration of, and a reclaiming of high-rise apartment blocks as a place where magic and adventure can happen.
It’s a modern-day fable that shows the children of an apartment block travelling to a strange, magical world inside a tree and meeting an old man with supernatural powers, only to realise that the magic they’d been looking for had been in their block all along.
Beautiful illustrations complement the poetic narrative, creating an enchanting story which children and adults alike will fall in love with.
This powerful story is about how society separates ‘urban’ spaces from the countryside, but the reality is that nature is everywhere, and everyone should have access to it.
Joseph Coelho - Children's Author, Poet and Playwright
‘Winner of the Independent Bookshop Week Picture Book Award 2019 for If All the World were’
(Also Shortlisted for the insugural Booktrust Storytime Prize)
Long-listed for The Carnegie Children's Award with his poetry collection 'Overheard In A Tower Block' illustrated by Kate Milner (also shortlisted for the CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award and Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards.).
Winner of the 2015 CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award with his debut poetry collection 'Werewolf Club Rules.' Illustrated by John O'leary.
His debut Picture Book with Fiona Lumbers 'Luna Loves Library Day' was voted one of the nations favourite picture books by a survey led by World Book Day.
His writing has been described as "sensitive" and "Lyrical."
"I had the good fortune of working with young people and students in classrooms up and down the country over 16 years. This gave me a feel for the way young people think, for the things they want to read about, for the stories and poems they are hungry for. When I write, I write for all those young people I've met over the years, those who couldn't find a book that dealt with an issue they wanted to discuss, those who couldn't find a character who looked like them, those hungry for a story in a world they recognise."
His books include 'If All The World Were...' Illustrated by Allison Colpoys, the non-fiction title 'How To Write Poems' Illustrated by Matt Robertson and A Year Of Nature Illustrated by Kelly Louise Judd (2019).
His poems have appeared in many anthologies including 'A Poem For Every Day Of The Year' ed. Allie Essiri and Jacqueline Wilson's 'Green Glass beads.'
He has written plays for companies including: Soho Theatre, Polka Theatre, The Unicorn Theatre, Theatre Royal York, Oily Cart and The Spark Children's Festival to name a few. His plays have received special note from Soho's Verity Bargate Award and The Bruntwood Playwriting Competition and he has spent many years touring and performing his work...
"The years spent performing to children as an actor and performance poet enabled me to take my work to children who would otherwise not get to see theatre or possibly read a book, I've performed in libraries and school halls, community centres and tents and have had to discover on the front-line how to make my words land. If you can't capture a child with your words and performance they will simply walk out on you. In that environment you learn all the tools for grabbing attention, tools like pizazz! and wow-factor! For sure, but also tools like emotion and intrigue and thrills and truth."
Joseph has been a guest poet on Cbeebies Rhyme Rocket, Radio 4's Poetry Playtime and Front Row. He is the presenter of BBC's Teach Poetry (Oct 2018) and features in DiscoveryEDUK's Poetry Curriculum.
Follow Joseph on Instagram and Twitter and find out more at his website below.
www.thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com
@JosephACoelho
@JosephCoelhoAuthor
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