Me And You Versus The World Book Review

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

First published in April 2022 this is such a lovely little book.  It’s written by Claire Gamble and illustrated by Sarah-Leigh Wills.

Writer Claire who lives between Manchester and The Peak District is studying at Manchester Metropolitan University and is busy writing her first full length novel. Sarah-Leigh Wills is an award winning illustrator with over 15 years experience and has done a fabulous job bringing the poem to life.

The poem shows two children going through life’s adventures together but the sentiments could easily be applied to siblings, parent and child or grandparent and grandchild. Each page has a four line rhyming phrase on one side and a beautiful illustration on the other the colours are strong but with a dream like quality in a matt finish with pictures of rainbows, forests and superhero’s. I don’t want to spoil the whole book for you but I have picked out a few phrases to give you a flavour of the book the first line is “The Worlds our oyster, The universe our crab.” The book continues with beautiful words and pictures of friendship and love and the adventures they have, always together, besides a lovely colourful picture of a rainbow this is written “It will pour and shine, then rainbows will appear, The sky will fill with colour, Contagious, fluorescent cheer”.

The final two lines are “ It’s me and you versus the world. Always and forever.” Originally the poem was written to be read at someone’s wedding and later made into an illustrated book. The book would make a lovely wedding gift or perfect for someone looking for a modern reading for a wedding. Smaller A6 versions of the book are available and could be used as table favours if you read the poem at your wedding.

There are many occasions when this book would make the perfect gift.  Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Grandparent’s Arthdays, Valentines Day, or my favourite type of gift” just because”.  An out of the blue gift is very special.
We all have such busy lives and often the only time we have to read is when we are on holiday but reading a short poem like this one is easier to fit into a busy life and can give a quick digital detox.  Switch off and escape into the poem.  Feel the rhythm of the words. Read them out loud if you are on your own. It can be very calming and relaxing.
It’s easier to express your feelings in a poem. Some of the verses in this poetry book would make lovely quotes to write in a greeting card to make it more personal. There are times when “love from” does not seem enough.

Rating: 4/5

RRP and buy link: The A5 book is priced at £9.99 with postage of £2.05 or A6 book in bundles of six are £24.99 with postage of £2.65, and only available from clairegamble.com. Payment is by credit card.