Each little verse makes an interesting, often humorous point about the subject of the title. Light but intelligent reading for pre-teenage children.
| Animal Babies | Doggie | Puss | The Rose | Milk |
| Blackberries | Pineapples | Bananas | A Kiss | Ice-Cream |
| Fair Exchange | Hat | Spiders | The Holiday | Vegetables |
| Pictures | Hand-Shake | Collage | The Reading | Kookaburra |
| Picture | Pet Bird | Pears | Sparrow | Magpies | Pebbles |
| Tyler's Work | Australian Fiction | Library |
| ANIMAL BABIES |
|---|
| How pretty are kittens,
Feeding from their mama! How pretty are puppies Doing the same! |
| DOGGIE |
|---|
| When he is excited
The doggie wags his tail. That way he shows affection, But he may not he for sale. |
| PUSS |
|---|
| Old pussie is a smooger,
Who rubs against your leg. But he can kill birds and mice And doesn't have to beg. |
| THE ROSE |
|---|
| A rose is colour,
A rose is smell; A rose is thorns,. Remember well |
| MILK |
|---|
| Cow's milk is for the poddy calves,
But we enjoy it as well, As a drink, or cream, or yoghurt Or cheese of all sorts and smell. |
| BLACKBERRIES |
|---|
| They say the blackberry
Is a weed; but wonderful To find in the bush, If it's food you need. |
| PINEAPPLES |
|---|
| You might think that pineapples
Would grow on a tree. That they are out of the top Of a plant, certainly surprised me. |
| BANANAS |
|---|
| Bananas are very nourishing
And make a hearty meal Then eaten with bread And pea-nut-butter — a steal. |
| A KISS |
|---|
| A kiss shows love,
Sure as Heaven above. A pleasure to experience, Especially when from mum. |
| ICE-CREAM |
|---|
| You scream, I scream
Then really in the soup; But we enjoy ice-cream, Alone or in a group. |
| FAIR EXCHANGE |
|---|
| Your Mum and Dad care for you
Then you are a baby or child. Then they grow old and frail, You can look after them. |
| HAT |
|---|
| A subject's only crown, his hat,
Is useful in all weathers. It doesn't have gold or gems, But might include some feathers. |
| SPIDERS |
|---|
| Spiders seem like fear things,
With nothing to enjoy. They are cheeky towards people, like any naughty boy. |
| THE HOLIDAY |
|---|
| Did you know that holiday
Is a word that comes from holy day, A religious day of rest From your work-a-day efforts. |
| VEGETABLES |
|---|
| Some vegies you enjoy straightaway,
Say potatoes, peas and beans; Others, such as pumpkin and quash Get nicer than they at first seem. |
| PICTURES |
|---|
| Every picture tells a story
Of the life in which we glory. Still an artist is creative, Using imagination as well as copying. |
| HAND-SHAKE |
|---|
| Grip tightly when you shake hands,
To show you really mean it, Goodwill and pleased To meet you. |
| COLLAGE |
|---|
| Cut out from magazines
Some pictures you really like; Glue them here and there on paper And you'll make what's called collage. |
| THE READING |
|---|
| Read all you can,
Just what you fancy, Whether sad or happy, Or perhaps romancey. |
| KOOKABURRA |
|---|
| My how the kookaburra laughs!
Is he amused, or a critic, laughing at life to mock The sounds of man and birds? |
| PICTURE |
|---|
| I made a pattern picture,
Of all the different shades, So now I have a rainbow scene Of everyone 's favourite colour. |
| PET BIRD |
|---|
| When our old pet cockey
Began to hide his head in his Feathers, we didn't know it because he was near dying. |
| PEARS |
|---|
| If pears came in pairs,
They'd be a lot to eat At once, but all right, If they were shared. |
| SPARROW |
|---|
| It would be hard to kill a sparrow
With a bow and arrow, Because he's only little and A target moving from place to place. |
| MAGPIES |
|---|
| Magpies soon attack your head,
Especially Dad 's, who's bald. I wonder why they aren't Affectionate and happy instead? |
| PEBBLES |
|---|
| As the waves of the ocean
Come continually into shore, They gradually make the pebbles Smooth as silk, for sure. |