Books

If I Could Eat the Stars and Other Poems

Published: 4/28/2026

Overview

Defend a Goal with Sally Murphy, rocket through space with Amber Moffat or get radioactive with Cristy Burne. Make some noise with Rebecca M. Newman, Walk the dog with Deb Fitzpatrick and play with your food with James Foley. Then ... Barlay! (Watch out!) with Cheryl Kickett-Tucker.

With stellar illustrations by Briony Stewart and featuring shape poems, haiku, cinquain and free verse ... these are poems to tickle your funny bone, make your belly rumble and keep you up at night.

This is a collection of fun poems for middle readers by contemporary Australian poets.

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Praise for If I Could Eat the Stars and Other Poems

“Humorous poems, evocative poems of the ocean, shape poems, rhyming poems, free verse, haiku, tiny poems and long poems – this has it all, and I gobbled it up like a bag of lollies.” Sue Warren, Just So Stories

“Rebecca M. Newman’s poems are some of the best and funniest poems in the anthology. ... From the lyrical to the laugh out loud, If I Could Eat the Stars and other poems is ideal to dip in and out of. Teachers could even select poems to read as lesson-break rewards. If I Could Eat the Stars showcases a fabulous depth of talent in Western Australia.” Joy Lawn, Paperbark Words

“With its variety and accessibility, this is a text that warrants multiple readings. As a teaching resource, If I Could Eat the Stars lends itself perfectly to modelling, comparison activities and creative writing tasks across the primary years. Illustrations by Briony Stewart add another visual dimension to the text.” Kathryn Beilby, ReadPlus

“If I Could Eat the Stars is a captivating collection of poems for younger readers.” Good Reading Magazine