Joseph Coelho on Sharing Poetry with Kids

Award-winning poet Joseph Coelho knows that enjoying poetry doesn’t have to be serious or scary— in fact, it can be full of fun, silliness, and magic. In this Q&A, Joseph shares his top tips for bringing poetry into the home, showing how reading, writing, and performing poems can spark imagination, build confidence, and turn everyday moments into playful “word worlds.” 

Whether you’re reading aloud to children, discovering your own voice, or creating poems together, Coelho reminds us that the best place to start is often with a simple single word, a little curiosity, and a big dose of imagination

When you visit schools, which poetic moments make children’s eyes widen the most?

Definitely moments of performance, of bringing a poem to life. Often, we ‘do’ poetry to children: we give them a poem and tell them to analyse it, or to sit and listen, which is fine. But seeing a poem spoken or performed, putting a poem on its feet, can be hugely impactful.

Children often respond most at first to poems that are a little bit funny or silly, because that helps remove the baggage poetry unfortunately has. Many young people and adults see poetry as something done by lofty individuals in high towers somewhere. Starting with fun poems helps remove that baggage, and then you can introduce poems that deal with deeper themes and emotions. Children are equally hungry for poems that explore feelings and topics we don’t always talk about, and poetry is brilliant at that.

Do you think children approach poetry more bravely than adults, and what can adults learn from them?

Oh, definitely. I often run the same activities with adults that I do with children, and it can be much harder with adults because we get scared. I understand that completely, adults are often afraid of being wrong or looking silly.

Children will throw their arms in the air, shout out answers, and have a go. They’re much more willing to get things wrong. For example, when I ask if anyone can spell onomatopoeia, children will keep trying even if they get it wrong. Adults almost never put their hands up. We lose that bravery as we get older, so I’d encourage adults to reconnect with that part of themselves that doesn’t mind being silly or getting something wrong.

You often bring poems alive through performance. What happens to a poem when it’s spoken rather than read on the page?

Some poems are stronger on the page and others on the stage. When a poem is read aloud or performed, a lot of the emotional content is brought forward, and the interaction between poet and audience becomes much more vivid.

Reading silently is an intimate, personal experience. On stage, the poem becomes a shared space where the audience and performer create the setting and characters together. Something quite magical happens between the stage and the seats, which is why some poems work better when performed and others on the page.

What warm ups do you use to help children find their performance voice?

I always start by getting children to write, because they don’t often see themselves as poets. Even five minutes of writing makes a difference. Then I ask everyone to stand up and read their work aloud at the same time, so no one is in the spotlight.

We walk around the room reading together, and I freeze them and give new instructions: read in your happiest voice, your saddest voice, a monster’s voice, a robot’s voice. It gives them a vocabulary for performance. More often than not, they start volunteering to read individually because they’re delighted by what they’ve discovered. I do this with adults too, though it takes a bit longer, and confidence builds over time.

Many parents feel insecure about sharing poetry. What simple things can families do to build confidence around it?

Practising together really helps. Take turns reading: children reading to adults, adults reading to children, and adults reading to each other. It’s lovely to be read to, and we often forget that as adults.

If children see adults enjoying reading aloud, it becomes a shared activity rather than a lesson. Reading to pets can help too, dogs don’t judge. That lack of judgement builds confidence. Reading to animals, or even puppets, makes the experience gentler and more playful.

What does a poetry rich home look like to you?

A home filled with poetry books, whether bought or borrowed from the library. Libraries are brilliant because they offer books from many decades, not just recent releases.

Poems can be displayed around the house too. One of the earliest poems I remember was on a poster above my nan’s toilet. I read it every time I went in and ended up learning it by heart without trying. Magnetic poetry on the fridge is another great idea. It’s about having poetry around incidentally, so it’s discovered rather than forced.

How can families turn everyday moments like cooking or walking into mini poetry events?

By thinking about different “word worlds”. Cooking, for example, is full of wonderful language: stir, fold, sprinkle, pinch. A walk in the forest opens up the language of trees and nature.

Word worlds exist everywhere - in sport, television, science programmes, cartoons. It doesn’t have to feel like a chore. It’s about showing that language is playful and fun wherever you are.

Do you remember the first poem you wrote that made you think, “Yes, that’s me on the page”?

I was about twelve and wrote a poem for a school competition after watching a documentary about bears in captivity. The poem was called Unbearable. I didn’t win, but I remember feeling proud. It was the first time I felt I’d created something meaningful and put something of myself on the page.

When you write for children, what parts of your childhood self do you listen to?

Every part - fears, joys, misunderstandings. As a child, you see the world very differently. Growing up on a large council estate with abandoned Victorian mansions shaped how I saw the world, and those memories bleed into my writing. Childhood perspective is essential when writing for young people.

What’s the oddest or most surprising question a child has ever asked you?

A child once asked me the name of my friend in the factory where I make books. He’d logically assumed that because I was a writer, books must be made in a factory, and I must work there with a friend. It was a brilliant example of a child’s imaginative logic.

Are there any poetry collections you’d recommend for families?

I’d recommend exploring anthologies, especially through libraries. One lovely collection is Find Peace in a Poem by Little Tiger Press. Anthologies let families discover different poets and then explore individual collections from there. Visit your local library and speak to a librarian, who can guide you towards poetry anthologies. These offer a wide range of poets and are a great starting point for exploration. From there, you may discover a favourite poet and choose to explore their individual collections, allowing you to begin your own journey of literary discovery.

About Joseph Coelho

Joseph Coelho OBE, FRSL, is a multi-award-winning children’s author and playwright. His YA ‘Story told in poems’ The Girl Who Became A Tree was shortlisted for the 2021 Carnegie Medal and received a special mention from the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2021. He has written plays for Little Angel Theatre, Tutti Frutti Productions, Polka Theatre and The Unicorn Theatre amongst others. He is two-time winner of the Indie Book Awards (2019 & 2022) with Picture Books If All The World Were... and My Beautiful Voice respectively (illus. Allison Colpoys). His Poetry Collection Werewolf Club Rules (illus. John O'leary) won the 2015 CLIPPA Poetry Award. His plays for adults have received a special commendation from the Verity Bargate Award and been long-listed for the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition. He won the 2024 Carnegie Medal for writing with The Boy Lost In The Maze (illus. Kate Milner) and was Waterstones Children's Laureate 2022 - 2024.