I’ve started recording the verses from Illustrated Nature Poetry, and putting them on YouTube.

The idea is that a care partner can play them for a ‘listen and read’ or ‘listen and read-along’ experience. Here’s a link to the growing playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0Cnf1PQ5rIeiY16bUccl4sXuVSkC7Eh

Why is this needed? Well, all these books can be enjoyed as a shared reading experience. However, it’s possible that not all care partners will feel confident to read classic poetry aloud. Maybe they’re not a poetry fan, or maybe English is a language they are still learning… If that is so, then hopefully this audio can make the shared reading experience more fun.

Each poem has its own short video. I introduce the poem in a chatty voice, then read the poem twice, with the second reading a little slower, to allow someone to read along, if they’d like to. ‘If they’d like to’ is an important point, as I don’t want anyone to feel pressured. In fact, I got feedback when I trialled this audio, reminding me to make that very clear!

I’ll keep recording and hopefully soon have all 19 poems done. I’ll also make a short introductory video for care partners, to suggest ways they can extend the reading to include discussion and reminiscence.

I hope this will be useful! Let me know!