BRIAN D'ARCY is an Anglo-Irish poet who has contributed to many anthologies of children's poetry and has had two collections published. He retired from lecturing at Sheffield Hallam University, after having previously lectured in Huddersfield, Blackburn and Lancaster. Brian is a member of the Mini Mushaira writers, has a passion for horses, retelling Irish folktales and writing poetry for children and adults. His poetry prizes include First Prize in the Edward Lear Centenary Limerick Competition. He lives in Sheffield with his wife Debjani Chatterjee, with whom he has edited Let's Celebrate! Festival Poems from around the World and Let’s Play! Poems about Sports and Games from around the World.

Debjani Chatterjee has been called 'a poet full of wit and charm' (Andrew Motion), 'a national treasure' (Barry Tebb) and 'the UK's best-known Asian poet' (Elisabetta Marino). She has written and edited well over 60 books, including Animal Antics, Masala, Monkey King’s Party and The Elephant-headed God & Other Hindu Tales - selected for Children's Books of the Year. Her multilingual interactive play The Honoured Guest was toured by Twisting Yarn Theatre. She enjoys performing her work at schools and children's libraries. Her residencies have included the Ilkley Literature Festival, Bedfordshire Schools, Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery, Sheffield Children's Hospital and the Millennium Galleries. Sheffield Hallam University awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2002, in 2008 she received an MBE for services to Literature, and in 2012 she was an Olympic Torchbearer in the Arts & Culture category. She lives in Sheffield. For more about her books and work see
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SHIRIN ADL was born in Harlow, England, in 1975. She received a first class BA honours in illustration from Loughborough University, and won the Hallmark M&S division Talented Designer Award. She currently lives in Oxford with her husband.

Contents

Introduction

The Chinese Dragon by Catherine Benson

The Pancake by Christina Rossetti

Tossing Pancakes by Nick Toczek

Ice Festival by Brian D'Arcy

Carnival by Valerie Bloom

Three Loud Cheers for Esther by Debjani Chatterjee and Brian D'Arcy

Saint Patrick's Day by Brian D'Arcy

A Card for me Mom by Bashabi Fraser

Colours of Holi by Debjani Chatterjee

Baisakhi by Anonymous

Cherry Blossom Haiku by Uejima Onitsura and Kobayashi Issa

Easter Lily by June Masters Bacher

Grandma's Easter Eggs by Wes Magee

Dance, Dance by Anonymous

Poe-Tree for Arbor Day by Sue Hardy-Dawson

On Buddha Purnima by Bashabi Fraser

Ode to Tomatoes (extracts) by Pablo Neruda

Harvest by Joan Poulson

Harvest Festival by Simon Fletcher

Eid Mubarak! Eid Congratulations by Kazi Nazrul Islam

Moon Cakes for Trung Thu by Mandy Coe

Hallowe-en by Jill Townsend

Diwali by Debjani Chatterjee

Hannukah by Andrea Shavick

Thanksgiving by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Pilgrims Came by Anonymous

Christmas Bells (extract) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Christmas Pudding by Anonymous

Kwanzaa by Anonymous

About the Festivals