Matt Goodfellow is from Manchester. He spends his time writing and touring the UK and beyond visiting schools, libraries and festivals to deliver high-energy, inspirational poetry performances and workshops. Before embarking on his poetry career, Matt spent over 10 years as a primary school teacher. He is a National Poetry Day Ambassador.

Aleksei Bitskoff was born in Estonia in the former Soviet Union. He always loved to draw as a child and covered his exercise books in doodles. Aleksei studied language and literature, preparing to be a school teacher, then moved to England to study English. After travelling around Russia and Europe his love of drawing brought him back to illustration. His work has a unique sense of humour and he creates dream-like worlds inhabited by little monsters and patterns that come from his subconscious mind.

'Matt Goodfellow is a fresh voice on the children's poetry scene.' (Pie Corbett)

What if cats had flavoured fur or if you swallowed the sun? What if you were a special kind of badger or if you found a map to the stars? And what if your home was split during the week: one half at Mum's, the other half at Dad's?

Packed with brilliant poems that explore a whole range of themes from the downright silly to the sensitive, this collection will delight, enthuse and resonate with children and adults alike!

Those who love poetry should snap up Matt Goodfellow's rich and vivid new collection, Bright Bursts of Colour, illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff.

Matt is a relatively new voice on the poetry scene but his work is so deliciously accomplished that it feels like he's already solidly established. This poetry collection is absolutely superb and so well observed ... This is a poet who really knows and understands children.

Matt Goodfellow's latest publication is a much needed pallet of colour and emotion.

There's a lot fun in this book, but it also includes poems on more sensitive themes and it can be a good route in to exploring often tricky things with children.