Sister Madge's book of nuns by Doug MacLeod and Craig Smith

Working Title Press, 2012. ISBN 978 1 921504 43 3.
Recommended. Picture book. Poetry. Humour. First published in 1986, this welcome reissue will set classes a rhyming all over again, as teachers read the poems aloud, students read them to themselves or to friends, and parents read them to their children before sleep. What a treat is in store for those not familiar with MacLeod's irreverent rhymes and Smith's detailed funny illustrations (for Adelaide people, look out for references to Adelaide buildings and sights). From Sister Bossy, used to telling all the other nuns what to do, until faced with an angel to whom she offered no compassion, to Sister Isobel getting rid of most of her students while at the zoo (Adelaide, of course) to Sister Brock, the builder, each poem is hilarious, involving and minutely illustrated.
I love Sister Poppy with her penchant for collecting the Women's Weekly, and adore Sister Flo in her vegetable garden, and aspire to be part of Sister Stephanie's gang. But most of all I love reading these poems aloud and can now replace my old tattered copy with a brand new one.
Fran Knight