Poem Of The Week Children's Special: Head In The Clouds By Charlie Bown

I think we’ve all been there; those unavoidable occasions so mind-bogglingly boring that the only escape is to switch off and daydream. How many times has your focus slipped and your mind wandered off to imagined realms far more interesting than reality?

I am no expert but I believe, in moderation (like drinking coffee or red wine), the process of daydreaming is beneficial to health and wellbeing. Somewhere there will be a learned paper analysing the brainwaves generated during those occasions when one is away with the fairies. I strongly suspect that daydreaming is linked with regenerative bodily functions like sleep or meditation.

And in Head in the Clouds, Charlie Bown captures the essence of the imaginative spirit, of the joy and wonderfulness that can be found in poetry written for children. Simple and direct, it encourages creativity, individuality and fun in learning. It is part of a collection of poems that take the young reader on an imaginary balloon journey filled with adventures and thought-provoking encounters, stimulating their imaginations and enriching their experience. Written by poets ranging from the very well known and established to those who are at the beginning of their creative careers, the work in Chasing Clouds …Adventures in a Poetry Balloon is very well represented by Charlie’s excellent poem and illustrated beautifully throughout by Em Humble.

I am biased of course. I love Head in the Clouds and every other poem and illustration in the anthology. And I would recommend that Charlie’s work is read by any educationalist who parrots the idea that ‘nothing good can come from having a head stuck in the clouds’.

Chasing Clouds...Adventures in a Poetry Balloon is published by Yorkshire Times Publishing.

https://dirigibleballoon.org/