If I Were Other Than Myself
Written & illustrated by Sue Hardy-Dawson
Publication date: February 2020
Ages: 7-9 years
Format: Paperback / 225 x 165 mm / 80 pages
ISBN: 978-1-909991-85-9
Rights available: World
UK retail price: £7.99
A stunning collection, full of magical fantasy and dream-like inventions.
Some of these poems are interwoven… ‘Blackout’ leads to ‘Fear of the Unknown’, while ‘Why Trees Whisper’ segues into ‘Zephyr’ and ‘Dog Reads the Wind’. The child is a frequent motif, perhaps even the voice of the haunting title poem ‘If I Were Other Than Myself’ with its final question ‘and should I wish, would I be missed?’
With its engagingly visual qualities and ingeniously shaped animal poems, this is an invitation for young imaginations to run wild. Celebrate the joy, sadness and sheer exhilaration of poetry. Sue Hardy-Dawson brings her poems to vivid life with her striking illustrations.
Resources & extras
Read Sue’s interview over at The Reading Realm where she talks to Ian Eagleton about writing and illustrating the book.
Reviews
“There are so many delights in If I Were Other Than Myself, making this not only the essence of reading for pleasure, but also a valuable collection for teachers and parents. There are so many poems worth noting here, so many which could be used to inspire, to move, to comfort, to amuse.”
North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award
“There are so many delights in ‘If I Were Other Than Myself’… so many poems which could be used to inspire, to move, to comfort, to amuse - making this not only the essence of reading for pleasure, but also a valuable collection for teachers and parents.”
“Here’s proof that children’s poetry can be sophisticated, clever, enigmatic, mysterious and graceful without being inaccessible.”
“Troika books are really setting a high standard for quality poetry books, both in content and in production, and If I Were Other Than Myself is the cream of the crop. A sign of a great poetry book for me is the number of times I read poems, pause, and think to myself, 'I wish I'd written that'. I lost count very quickly with this one. This book deserves the widest readership and I can't recommend it highly enough.”
“Has everything you could possibly want from a poetry book and lot more besides, which you could never dream of wanting because Sue’s imagination is rich and wild and free and unique. Order it now and step into Sue’s world – you won’t regret it.”
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