Category: LitraQuest

Out of the bosom of the Air, Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent, and soft, and slow… Continue reading

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with… Continue reading

  “The door was shut, as doors should be,Before you went to bed last night;Yet Jack Frost has got in, you see,And left your window silver white.He must have waited… Continue reading

“What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance… Continue reading

    When dark December glooms the day, And takes our autumn joys away; When short and scant the sunbeam throws, Upon the weary waste of snows, A cold and… Continue reading

Right now the world needs more, possibly more than anything else, empathy – that most humanising of abilities to understand and share the feelings of others. One of the most… Continue reading

    “When all the cows were sleeping And the sun had gone to bed, Up jumped the pumpkin, And this is what he said: I’m a dingle dangle pumpkin… Continue reading

The poem we have chosen to feature this month is “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” by William Wordsworth     Earth has not anything to show more fair:… Continue reading

Summer is here, along with the Silly Season, so what better excuse to share some wonderful Nonsense Verse !   The Walrus and the Carpenter By Lewis Carroll “The sun… Continue reading

“Summer Sun” by Robert Louis Stevenson   Great is the sun, and wide he goes Through empty heaven without repose; And in the blue and glowing days More thick than… Continue reading

This month we couldn’t make our minds up … so we have got two poems for you !     First a short verse by Heinrich Heine   Sweet May… Continue reading

“Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, The periwinkle trails its wreath; And ’tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes. The birds around me hopped and… Continue reading

Out of the mud two strangers came And caught me splitting wood in the yard, And one of them put me off my aim By hailing cheerily “Hit them hard!”… Continue reading

  Spring I wonder if the sap is stirring yet, If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate, If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun And crocus fires are… Continue reading

Reading is extra-ordinarily powerful, particularly when one is young. The act of reading, that process of converting words on a page into concepts and images in one’s head, along with… Continue reading

  Hillside Narcissus by Nora McFarlane There’s a grassy slope not far away Where thousands of Narcissus bloom, And I catch my breath, as I watch them sway Tossing their… Continue reading

Two years ago, a few days after his 69th birthday, David Bowie died. David Robert Jones was a highly innovative polymath best known for his extra-ordinary, and outstandingly successful, career… Continue reading

JANUARY Janus am I; oldest of potentates; Forward I look, and backward, and below I count, as god of avenues and gates, The years that through my portals come and… Continue reading

The Foolish Fir Tree Then he sighed and groaned; but his voice was weak He was so ashamed that he could not speak. He knew at last that he had… Continue reading

  I am rich today with autumn’s gold, All that my covetous hands can hold; Frost-painted leaves and goldenrod, A goldfinch on a milkweed pod, Huge golden pumpkins in the… Continue reading

The poem for this month is “An October Garden” by Christina Georgina Rossetti.   In my Autumn garden I was fain To mourn among my scattered roses; Alas for that last… Continue reading

“September” by John Updike The breezes taste of apple peel. The air is full of smells to feel- Ripe fruit, old footballs, burning brush, new books, erasers, chalk, and such.… Continue reading

Just imagine a world before social media … not just social media but also any kind of telephone or even telegraph, leave alone mobiles and computers, indeed not even photographs… Continue reading

    “Thoughts in a Garden” by Andrew Marvell What wondrous life in this I lead! Ripe apples drop about my head; The luscious clusters of the vine Upon my… Continue reading

“Sweet July, warm July! Month when mosses near the stream, Soft green mosses thick and shy, Are a rapture and a dream. Summer Queen! whose foot the fern Fades beneath… Continue reading

The cleric, historian and author Charles Kingsley was born on this day in 1819. A fascinating man, Kingsley mixed with many great thinkers of his time and actively engaged in… Continue reading

Mine is the Month of Roses; yes, and mine The Month of Marriages! All pleasant sights And scents, the fragrance of the blossoming vine, The foliage of the valleys and… Continue reading

Little Girls & Little Lambs By Kate Greenaway In the May-time flowers grow; Little girls in meadows go; Little lambs frisk with delight, And in the green grass sleep at… Continue reading

Imagination and empathy are two of the most powerful things we can give our children. Empathy and imagination are essential parts of what make us human. And … guess what… Continue reading

Humanity is defined by stories. Not just retrospectively in terms of its history but also actively by the stories and books that define current, and indeed future, behaviour for many… Continue reading

It is Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday today (2nd April).   He wrote and published many, many stories, and one of the most famous is “The Ugly Duckling”. I think most… Continue reading

This April we have a poem especially for April Fool’s Day …       “The first of April, some do say, Is set apart for All Fools’ Day. But… Continue reading

We read recently a wonderful story on the BBC about Ursula Shepherd who is learning to read at the age of 86. Can you imagine, when she was at school… Continue reading

There was great news this week … Liverpool City Council has reversed its decision to close eleven libraries ! These libraries were saved by additional funds being made available for… Continue reading

A few days ago, sorting out old boxes of family photographs, we came across a most marvelous little album.  It was not a photograph album but rather a scrap book… Continue reading

Today marks the 542nd birthday of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. One of the most talented artists and crafstmen alongside Leonardo seen as the archetypal and ultimate Renaissance man. Imagination… Continue reading

It’s the 1st of March and our thoughts turn to March Hares. In the world of stories the most famous hare appears at the Mad Tea Party in “Alice’s Adventures… Continue reading

  “The March wind roars Like a lion in the sky, And makes us shiver As he passes by. When winds are soft, And the days are warm and clear,… Continue reading

“If apples were pears And peaches were plums And the rose had a different name. If tigers were bears And fingers were thumbs I’d love you just the same.”   Continue reading

Sharing stories and poems, the importance of libraries, creative writing, and the potential of books to change lives … all these things are at the heart of Litrasaurus. Whilst we… Continue reading