We are very fortunate to be living through somewhat of a children's poetry "Golden Age" - and it truly feels like it was back when I was a kid, and you'd get some superb poetry compilations on just about any subject you could think of.

Troika Press are leading the charge with a pair of brilliant and bonkers new poetry books for kids, starting with the superb "How Many Points for a Panda" by Hilda Offen.

Hilda's whimsical poems are rib-ticklingly funny and all kids will instantly find a favourite amongst them.

She expertly weaves in experiences and fun from her own life's observations, covering diverse subjects with a razor sharp wit and the sort of clever use of language that kids absolutely cannot resist.

"How Many Points for a Panda" by Hilda Offen is out now, published by Troika. 

Then there's the brilliant "Gorilla Ballerina" by Neal Zetter and Julian Mosedale, offering a more irreverent and cheeky perspective on animal life.

Can you picture a gorilla doing ballet!

Well, this, pretty miss, is a very odd book indeed but we absolutely loved the quirky whimsical craziness of "Aife and Stray: Seven Style Secrets for a Perilous Party" by Stevie Westgarth and Emily Ford.

The titular pair, Aife and Stray, are quite content to spend their evenings at home chilling out in their comfortable loungewear. But when style icon Prunella Bonbon unexpectedly invites them to her party, it's time for a mad dash to the shops for Aife. What on earth is she going to wear?

They live in a town inhabited by some truly strange boutique owners, each with their own colourful preferences - and as you'll find as this bouncy rhyming story unfolds - each with their own particular "oddity".

This story works on several levels, as a great bouncy rhyme-along story for children first learning their colours. As a surreal tale of strange characters for older kids, and as a bit of awesome and original fun for children C's age, particularly if they're mildly obsessed with fashion and clothes, and looking cool.

So what does Aife finally wear to the party? You'll have to find out! Stevie's rhymes are mostly good (there were a few that made our teeth grate, to be honest!) and Emily's illustrations are fab and original. As we've come to expect from Troika, this isn't your average picture book, it's really fun, surreal and quite exquisite, just like Prunella Bonbon's wardrobe!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A surreal, weird and utterly awesome book that works on multiple levels as a great way of learning colours, but as a fun and entertaining rhyming story with a whole cast of amazing characters.

"Aife and Stray: Seven Style Secrets for a Perilous Party" by Stevie Westgarth and Emily Ford is out now, published by Troika (kindly supplied for review). 

If there's one thing we've begun to notice lately, it's that there's a seriously inspirational revival in the amount of awesome poetry anthologies coming to market for children.

Perhaps now, more than ever, kids need books that take them away from the day to day humdrum modern world, and let their imaginations fly.

That's the idea behind "Firecrackers" by Zaro Weil with illustrations by Jo Riddell. Inside this book you'll find an impressive collection of poems, raps, haikus, fairy tales and flights of fancy on a diverse range of subjects but all with huge child appeal.

We're complete suckers for poetry books anyway, so we couldn't wait to dive in.

Poem anthologies lend themselves so well to being read aloud, in fact I'd urge parents to give poetry books a go for bedtime reading, to chop and change around from stories for a mo and let clever verse fuel your children's dreams.

"Firecrackers" might've arrived with us just a day too late to latch it onto bonfire celebrations around November the 5th but this book will elicit the same oohs and ahhs as a well organised firework display.

Poems range from silly subjects that will tickle your little ones, to more thought provoking stuff to slide into those gaps in the day where you just want to kick back, relax and hear something soothing.

Jo's illustrations are superb too, simple and child-friendly without distracting too much from the verses.

There's truly something for everyone here in "Firecrackers", and we're so happy to see children's poetry having such a fabulous resurgence in popularity, perhaps giving the next generation of young poets plenty of food for thought.

"Firecrackers" by Zaro Weil and Jo Riddell is out now, published by Zaza Kids Books / Troika (Kindly supplied for review)