Beowulf

With all the recent publicity and hooplah for the premiere of the film version of "Beowulf" it's worth our pointing out that we have a few different editions of the poem in our libraries, along with some scholarly commentaries on the poem.

As well as classic editions we have:

• Copies of Seamus Heaney's much-acclaimed retelling both in book and audio format;


• Michael Morpugo's version for children, with dramatic illustrations by Michael Foreman; and


• Caitlin Kiernan's novelisation of the film.

The Truth About Teachers

"The Truth About Teachers" is an really very funny collection of rhymes and poems about teachers.

It dishes the dirt on their secret lives: that competetive streak on the football field; translations of common "teacher's phrases" used in the classroom; and the truth about tea and cakes in the staff room. Great stuff!

James

"The Truth About Teachers" is written by Paul Cookson, Davide Harmer, Brian Moses and Roger Stevens and generously illustrated by David Perkins. We've just bought seven copies for children's collections in libraries around the Borough.

Popular poetry

For National Poetry Day we asked customers in all our libraries to vote for their favourite poem. The results were:

1. "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth
2. "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear
3. "Cargoes" by John Masefield
4. "Macavity the Mystery Cat" by T.S.Eliot
5. "The Lake of Inisfree" by W.B.Yeats
6. "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" by W.B. Yeats
7. "Home Thoughts From Abroad" by Robert Browning
8. "Warning" by Jenny Joseph
9. "Please Mrs. Butler" by Allan Alberg
10. "If" by Rudyard Kipling

We'd be interested to know your favourites.