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Poetry book is simply winning

19 October 2005

Simply Poetry!, a book of poetry for young children by Mrs Ellinor Campbell of the Monash Children's Centre, has won an award for excellence in educational publishing.

Mrs Ellinor Campbell reads her poetry book to Sebastien and Jemarod.

The book, part of a series aimed at pre-school children, was one of 75 entries in 18 award categories.

The prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Publishers Association.

Mrs Campbell, who has worked in the early childhood field for 40 years, teamed up with her husband, David, to write the book.

She said she was excited to receive the award, especially because of the joy the book brought to the children from the Monash Children's Centre who had contributed to it.

"The children's reactions to the poems and illustrations played a significant and formative role in the development of the book," Mrs Campbell said. "Their delightful quotes, which are included in the book, provide a fascinating insight into the world of children and are an important factor in its success."

Simply Poetry!, which is designed to encourage a love of poetry in young children, explores the world of young children through short verses of poetry.

It also features comments from children at the centre and has been colourfully illustrated to appeal to children as young as one.

Mrs Campbell said she hoped the book would fill a gap in the market, as poetry for young children had been largely neglected.

"It's great to interest children in poetry from a young age as they just love the rhythms and rhymes, and adults can often use actions to illustrate the verse."

Simply Poetry! is available at the Monash University bookshop.