Polly Dunbar - Ready for Spaghetti

Polly Dunbar is an English author-illustrator. She is best known for her self-illustrated books Penguin, the Tilly and Friends series,  which was made into a television series.

She has illustrated Margaret Mahy's riotous rhymes  Down the Back of the Chair and Bubble Trouble as well as a collection of Michael Rosen's poems for very young children,  A Great Big Cuddle.

Now Polly has illustrated a second collection by Michael Rosen, Ready for Spaghetti. She joined Nikki Gamble In The Reading Corner to talk about the joy of illustrating these playful, performative rhymes.

About Ready for Spaghetti
From two of the biggest names in children's publishing, this is an inspiring guide to wordplay for young readers, their parents and teachers.

I'm ready for spaghetti will you getti the spaghetti? Don't say, "Not yetti spaghetti!"'cos I'm all setti for spaghetti.

Fizzing with rhythm, energy, and laughter, the 30 poems in Ready for Spaghetti delight in the details of children's daily routines.

"Up, up, uppity-up!", the first poem announces, while the artwork shows a child leaping out of bed, ready to begin their morning; "Hush and a hush, soft and low", chants the final poem, as children snuggle under their blankets after their day's adventures. Full of affectionate observations of young children, which are beautifully continued in Polly Dunbar's warm-hearted pictures, Michael Rosen's poems are ideal for reading aloud with toddlers ... and many grown-ups will soon know them by heart!

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