"An authentic, must-read collection and a voice we seldom hear."
November 2024 Debut of the Month
Shortlisted for the 2024 CLiPPA, the children’s poetry award, And I Climbed, And I Climbed is a book you won’t have read before.
Like poet Stephen Lightbown, its speaker, eight-year-old Cosmo has been left paralysed following an accident – in Cosmo’s case, a fall from a tree – and uses a wheelchair to move around. In poems that are direct and immediate, he describes his thoughts and feelings about what he’s going through. Many of them are addressed to the tree, others describe moments with his family, other people’s reactions, his own rage and frustration at what’s happened.
There’s a lot of anger but surprising joy too, for example, when he describes the freedom that surfing brings and the exhilaration of wheelchair dancing. Without a trace of sentimentality, it makes for a page turning collection, addressing complex emotional issues with a striking simplicity and clarity.

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Why didn’t you catch me? Why, Tree?
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed And I Climbed, And I Climbed and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
And I Climbed, And I Climbed features in the following genres: Featured Books for 7+ readers, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Stories about Family and Friends, PSHE: Special educational needs and disability (SEND), Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Poetry Books for Children, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage poetry, anthologies, annuals
Paperback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. In Stock.
And I Climbed, And I Climbed was written by Stephen Lightbown and published by Troika Books
And I Climbed, And I Climbed has 95 pages
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. In Stock.