Jenny Lockyer
Two poems written for the Summer Reading Challenge 2020 inspired by the Silly Squad!
Video
First poem The Silly Squad Variety Show
Second Poem: Norman's Notes starts 2m47
The Silly Squad was the 2020 theme for the annual Summer Reading Challenge created by the Reading Agency and delivered by libraries all over the country.
All of the lovely offical Reading Agency illustrations on this page are © Laura Ellen Andersen 2020 and are used with permission.
Children's activities:
Read what silly adventures they get up to in the poems and draw them.
Add your own verse/stanzas to one of the poems.
Reading and finding out:
Which two Silly Squad members attempt a highwire dining act?
Who tries to get dressed with clothes that are still hanging up on the washing line?
Which character is determined to be miserable and drops in to tell everybody off for being too silly?
Draw!
Draw illustrations for the poems. Have a read of the poems or watch the video and get drawing!
Even better, have a go at writing your own silly poems!
The Silly Squad Variety Show
“Encore! Tell us another joke!”
So Lily the frog kept going.
She'd told a hundred jokes so far,
Her confidence was growing.
All the Silly Squad were there
To enjoy this comedy aquatic
Bamboozle and Izzie, Merry and Snook,
But Brian was in the attic.
Then Cher and Shirley the fun house sheep
Appeared to take the stage.
They'd just read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
And remembered every page!
Another hour followed of
Theatre comical and dramatic
But Brian missed Cher's 'Bottom'
'Cause he was in the attic.
An interval for snacks and drinks,
Izzie the Octopus showed her skill.
She served ice cream with poetry
While working on the till!
With meticulous calculation,
She was quite the act mathematic
She finished with some fireworks!
Shame Brian was in the attic.
Which of the squad would take the chance
To open the second half?
Then with a swish of satin
On came a tall giraffe.
Merry was in the spotlight,
Her yarns so charismatic
Everyone hung on her every word
While Brian was in the attic.
Then Mo and Filbert the platypuses
On tightropes were a riot!
They ate while going back and forth
To prove a balanced diet.
And though their highwire dining
Made the soup course problematic
They finished up to huge applause
But Brian was in the attic.
Bamboozle the panda loves a trick
And to tread the boards.
He made Shirley the sheep disappear
And swallowed several swords!
His magic act had showmanship,
A style quite enigmatic
As Shirley the sheep reappeared
Next to Brian in the attic!
Snook was last to give a turn
And to everyone's great pleasure
He gave out pirate costumes
And they set off to find treasure!
With cloths and sheets they shaped a ship
For an adventure quite piratic,
Then suddenly Brian the pony
Descended from the attic!
He landed in from high above,
A unicorn in flight.
If only unicorns could fly
It would have looked alright.
But let's move on, as Brian was there
And he was quite emphatic
“Will you all be quiet, please.
I'm brooding in the attic”
“Arrrrr!” Brian said, then stomped away
Snook looked out to sea.
'One day he'll make a fine pirate...
Now where that treasure be......??!”
Then later they all took their bows
On a high, ecstatic!
Everyone has a silly bone.
Even Brian, in the attic.
By Jenny Lockyer
©Jenny Lockyer August 2020
Norman's Notes.
Brian's asked me to spy on the Silly Squad
Here are my notes from today.
If found return to Norman,
Don't read, just look away.
Are you reading this? How nosey!
But then in my opinion
Who am I to stop you?
I'm just Brian the pony's minion.
Seeing as you're here, though
Perhaps I can confide
And tell you what it's like for me
Being on Brian's side.
It can be quite eventful
In weird and wonky ways
When Brian broke the laugh-o-meter
He partied hard for days.
He galloped round for ages
And while he gave himself a blister
Us pigeons got a take away
And then we all played Twister.
But most of the time, in Brian's camp
Joy levels are abysmal
Brian's determined to bring things down
And keep it dark and dismal.
The only thing that keeps me
From feeling quite forlorn
Is seeing how silly Brian looks
Dressed as a unicorn.
I think it is a bold move,
For one who dislikes joy
To dress up in a rainbow
And become their own decoy.
I don't think Brian appreciates
His silliness potential
And I must say, perhaps confess,
Silliness is essential.
Like bread and milk and margarine
I'd like some silly, please
Just slip it in the basket,
Between the eggs and cheese.
(talking figuratively. I can't eat eggs.)
I care for Brian, we all do
But he needs to lose the tension
Take counselling or therapy,
He needs an intervention.
I'd love to see him read more books
And open up his mind
Climb into a story
And leave his stress behind.
Travel with great heroes
Magical wand in hand
Fall down rabbit holes with Alice
To a wacky wonderland!
Wander through the wardrobe
Race Toad's motor car
He could sit upon a giant peach
And wish upon a star.....
But.
Returning to reality.
It's a shame I have to.
Anyway.
Notes:
Tuesday 5th August
(In a series of Haikus to make my work more interesting, skip to the end if you don't like Haikus...)
12.13pm
Merry the giraffe makes tea.
Cold on reaching face.
12.20pm
Lily tells all a new joke
1pm I laugh....
...I'm not on the ball.
I'm taking notes for Brian
And I'm distracted.
1.30pm
Bamboozle dons Bowie wig
Resemblance striking.
1.50pm
No one here so read comic.
Brian would be mad.
(Great story about
Evil horse with heart of gold.
Leave on Brian's desk.)
2.15pm
Snook reads cool sports annual
Then does five star jumps.
2.30pm
Feel inspired by Snook to jump.
Look ridiculous.
2.50pm
Izzie hangs the washing out,
Takes her five seconds.
4.15pm
Snook puts on clothes still pegged up.
Extremely silly
4.18pm
All of Silly Squad join in.
Even sillier.
Brian reads comic!
Can't quite gauge his impression.
But isn't in bin.
4.30pm
Brian rolls eyes, then comic.
Bops own head with it.
Quite silly of him.
Does he see the irony?
Things are looking up.
End of Norman's notes for today.
By Jenny Lockyer
©Jenny Lockyer August 2020.
Other poems....
Gerbils
Oh my little gerbils they escaped into my room
They hid under the wardrobe and I poked them with a broom
I accidentally pushed them down a hole in the floor
Now I'm sad to say I do not have my gerbils anymore.
Oh my little hamster, he was in his little ball
I took him to the seaside and he fell off the wall
He bobbed over the ocean, far from the shore
Now I'm sad to say I do not have my hamster anymore.
Oh my little sister she… Ooops.
©Jenny Lockyer
Mummy can't drive.
My mummy has a big car to take me to school
And every day we hit a bicycle
She shouts through the window to people in cars
We've got someone's car bonnet on our bull bars.
She shouts and she screams at everyone,
and I sit in the back with my Pokemon
I sing to myself and play games on my own
while she talks to her friends on her mobile phone
And though I'm only five,
I know mummy can't drive.
She overtakes old people, swears at them too
And when I'm grown up, I'll know just what to do
Not read the signs or stop at red lights,
Just wind down the window and get into fights.
And when she parks it can take her all day
We bump into things that get in her way
We hit something once and she drove off because
She said, 'If we stay, we might see what it was'
And though I'm only five,
I know mummy can't drive!
©Jenny Lockyer
DINOSAURS!
A dinosaur goes to church
Here is the church
And here is the steeple
Open up the doors
Whoops, I've eaten the people.
Pterosaur dental needs.
A pterodactyl's ptoothpaste
pto ptell you the ptruth
Runs out very quickly
One ptube for every ptooth!
Dinosaur Etiquette.
I put to you that you would find it
very hard to focus
If you were suddenly sat upon
by a Diplodocus
He may try to be kind
engage in friendly chat
But how could you answer him at all
If you were squash'ed flat?
Advice for a dinosaur
Listen, little dinosaur
My motto's quite succinct
Live life to the full, just like your mum
'cos soon you'll be extinct.
Brontosaurus Mum.
A meteor! A meteor!?
We've all heard that one before
Pull the other one, yeah right, whatever,
It's not big and you're not clever.
Stop waving your tail about in my face
There's no giant rock from outer space.
No massive need to run and hide
Just 'cos you think we'll all be fried
I've got the cave to Hoover, the 'Dacytl to de-flea
It's your brother's Bar Mitzvah at half past three
Take a breath, listen to jazz
I can do without your razamatazz!
Your worst nightmare is a meteorite
But your dad's snoring keeps me up at night.
And he's been on the greens so your time should be spent
preparing for that Mass Extinction Event!
We're perfectly safe in this volcano.
The end.