Poetry Box review: Why Not? by Swapna Haddow

By Poetry Box - Paula Green | Posted: Thursday Aug 28, 2025

Poetry Box review: Why Not? by Swapna Haddow | Poetry Box

I heard on the radio that there is an upswell of people in Britain buying books! Yes! Readers are writing about books they love on social media! Yes! I am talking the object you hold in your hand, where you turn the pages, and get travelling. A good book is a ticket to anywhere, whether real or imagined, whether poetry, fiction or nonfiction.

Think books - think readers and writers, bookshops and libraries. Yes! Let's think libraries!

I loved reading when I was young and I love reading now. Our house is a wash with book piles. I even have a poetry book room! When I was young, going to the town library in Whangārei every Friday night was a special treat. Every week, I would stumble out with as many books as I was allowed to stumble out with.

Swapna Haddow has written an extremely cool book, Why Not?,about a library.

A child goes into a library and it seems like everything the child tries to do is off the menu! Definitely not the place to climb the shelves or peel the carpet. BUT the librarian has an EXTRAORDINARY imagination and the perfect answer for why not!!!

And of course there is a curious character who might turn up at any curious moment, 'the terrifying pirate Captain Dont'mess-wiv-me-books Blackbeard'. This is a pirate who especially loves reading unicorn books.

Daron Parton's illustrations offer a delicious sprinkling of wit: from the astutely judged book titles on the shelves to the peeking faces and the expressions on the key characters. I even spotted the earlier book of Daron and Swadna peeking out of a bag. Perfect!

Why Not? is a super-cool celebration of libraries as the treasure-house of our imaginations. I love the beginning, the middle and the ending. It's book to gobble up - every bit and bite of it. It's a book to read children - and it's book that should be in every library across the motu.

Swapna Haddow grew up in the UK and wrote her first book at age eight. She wishes she’d kept it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time to trade it for two stickers and a couple of marbles! Her first published book was the award-winning junior novel Dave Pigeon, and her first published picture book was My Dad Is a Grizzly Bear. She has also written the early reader Ballet Bunnies series as Swapna Reddy. Swapna now lives in Dunedin, NZ, with her husband, son and their dog.

Daron Parton is an award-winning illustrator who was born in the UK, married a Kiwi and emigrated to New Zealand in 1995. He has worked as an illustrator for over 30 years and his books include the humorous Scholastic titles, We Saw a Spinosaurus, Starfish the Star, Stupid Carrots and Bedtime is Boring. Daron has two sons and lives in Hamilton.