Write a poem / About / Someone near to you, / Dear to you.’ Mr Mackie’s homework assignment has the class groaning in despair: everyone, that is, except Sam. So begins a beautiful novel written entirely in verse Sam’s poem and tribute to his friend Dave, now absent. A brilliant story to read aloud, especially with its irregular line endings, lending the words a natural conversational rhythm, as well as emphases that both you and your child will find thought-provoking. But Cloud Busting will not only challenge childrens’ ideas of what a poem should or might be. In two devastating chapters What Should’ve Happened’ and What Did Happen’ it will also challenge them to consider the cost of not being true to yourself.