It's the Sound of the Thing

100 New Poems for Young People

By: Maxine Beneba Clarke

Narrated by: Maxine Beneba Clarke

This extraordinary collection celebrates the joy of language and features enticing and relatable poems about everyday life – the sounds of the block, the boredom of detention and the happenings in the schoolyard. Poems about candy, peanut butter and pets. Poems about a big brother’s messy room, a grandfather’s fading memory and a grandmother’s garden magic.

Through haiku, sonnets, narrative verse, rhyming couplets, limericks, free verse, tongue-twisters and more, Maxine Beneba Clarke invites listeners to fall in love with the wonder that is poetry.

2024, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Children's Literature, Short-listed

2024, Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) Book of the Year for Younger Children, Winner

2024, Australian Book Design Awards, Winner

2025, DANZ Children's Book Award Poetry, Short-listed

©2023 Maxine Beneba Clarke. First published in Australia by Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (P)2023 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'This new collection is the incredible result of hard work and letting an imagination run free.' (Kids Book Review)

'...a brilliant resource in showing that not only can poetry be easier to understand than we might first believe, but it’s also an excellent way to express complex or private feelings, making poetry a more accessible form of writing or journaling for kids.' (Readings)