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thetoypress.bsky.social
The Toy Press 🍩🦜🍑🌻🪐🛼
@thetoypress.bsky.social
320 followers 200 following 110 posts
Printed magazine for kids aged 10 and under. Submissions are closed. Editions 1-7 can be purchased online at: www.thetoypress.com/shop
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dreambeastpoems.bsky.social
Inspired by the children I teach - making sense of the world with their glorious imaginations #wordprompt #imagination #poems4kids #watercycle #water #poemsforkids
November 26, 2025 at 8:36 PM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Lots of kinds of #Cycle to choose from for @thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek. So I didn't.

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
The Life Cycle of a Poem Motorcycle Riding fast Unicycle Clown flies past Spin cycle Wash with haste Recycle Eco waste Water cycle Land, air, sea News cycle Update me! Batcycle Comic fun Broken cycle My job’s done
November 24, 2025 at 4:41 PM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
Thanks to the @thetoypress.bsky.social for a brand-new #wordoftheweek. This week, the word is "cycle," and it got me to wondering...

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit
The Ulster Cycle At home, I learned that tricycles have not two wheels but three I heard the explanation, and it all made sense to me And so a unicycle uses just one wheel, not two But what exactly does the stinking Ulster Cycle do? Poem © Shaun Jex
November 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Hello, here is your #wordoftheweek!

#wordprompt #writingprompt #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetryforchildren #poetryforkids
November 24, 2025 at 7:55 AM
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kaymedway.bsky.social
#wordoftheweek #poetry #poem
Ship of Heather and Rose by Kay Medway A spray of thin stems of white heather flowers, luckiest and already with a rose, in Trafalgar Square from a flower seller to us on a bench. A dark burgundy rose, the colour of her bonnet, her dress, her basket abundant, her quick movements with a smile for us. With coins in her palm she walks away, leaving flowers in our hands, suited to our sadness, to set off in a ship on the fountain. The ship we weave for flowers will bob in fountain water, travelling with rose and heather, bringing back wishes proved real in November sunlight.
November 17, 2025 at 7:37 PM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
Another wonderful #wordoftheweek from @thetoypress.bsky.social . This one sent me a a bit of a voyage!

#kidlit #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetryforchildren
Put To Sea The maple leaves sail on the breeze Like ships that ride a gentle wave Far from their home up in the trees The maple leaves sail on the breeze Wherever the West Wind decrees They’ll go like sailors bold and brave The maple leaves sail on the breeze Like ships that ride a gentle wave © Shaun Jex
November 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
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johndredge.bsky.social
@thetoypress.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Hello, here is your #wordoftheweek!
(Amended slightly due to repetition)

#writingcommunity #writingforchildren #writingprompt #poetryforkids #poetrycommunity #poetryforchildren
#illustrationcommunity #illustrationprompt #kidlit
November 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
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kaymedway.bsky.social
#wordoftheweek #poetry #poem
Take notice especially of the tapered points on the tips of garden grass. They are green and able to recompose, spring back again, even if their place is on the path that sings for you to go out and walk among animal prints and tracks. Ask outside what it hears: insects, weather, sheep, games we still or sometimes play, or a villager on his daily dusk wander. Record what the stems listen to. Track down a favourite song of cup-shaped petals hums, hymns, riffs, or tunes. Put it in a poem. Take any key of a keyboard, a drum sound from a button of special effects if you wish. Ask about the children who ask to learn to play when they visit their grandparents. Observe how they fix and turn the baubles, so they are not left in a shatter when they decorate the tree. by Kay Medway
November 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Time to get back on #track with @thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek. Or is it?

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
Do You Really Want to Get Back on Track? Like a train tied to stations, in the same old locations, always on fixed durations, with no chance of vacation. Is there not some temptation to resist this stagnation? Perhaps instead take advantage of coming off the rails. Glide over the countryside, towards a port. Chug up to a ferry, and take a trip overseas. Join a traffic jam and blare your superior train horn, then break free and pick up speed. Do the locomotive in a town you don't know the name of. Head deep underground. Take flight, if you can, or simply jump up and feel the air step aside as you rise. And then, one day, return to your rails. Or don't.
November 11, 2025 at 10:02 AM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
Thanks to @thetoypress.bsky.social for another #wordoftheweek

This week's poem is based on actual events.

You know...more or less.

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit #poetryforkids #writingcommunity
Why Sasquatch Split Town Last night I saw ol’ Sasquatch Down by the railroad track He told me, “I’m leaving town And won’t be coming back ‘Round here they call me Bigfoot Though I try to explain My foot size is quite normal And my first name is Wayne…” © Shaun Jex
November 10, 2025 at 8:35 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Thank you for all your supportive comments on our post yesterday.

Here is your #wordoftheweek!

#writingcommunity #writingforchildren #writingprompt #poetryforkids #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity
November 10, 2025 at 8:39 AM
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sconnor7.bsky.social
Late poem for @thetoypress.bsky.social prompt, written from the experience of putting little ones to bed on Bonfire Night.
November 9, 2025 at 7:34 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
We would usually have opened up submissions again by now, but we are taking a pause to think about what's next.

For the past few editions, we haven't recouped all of our costs and this is largely down to the increasing expense of sending out contributor copies...
November 9, 2025 at 12:51 PM
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rburrows.bsky.social
Thank you so much @chrisarnoldinc.bsky.social #BBCUpload for airing my little beetle poem and friends last night!
It was written originally for @thetoypress.bsky.social #wordoftheweek #canter

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... It’s about 16.45m in.
November 7, 2025 at 6:09 PM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Thanks to @thetoypress.bsky.social for their #WordOfTheWeek #Spark. Here's where my brain went this week:

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
Super-disappointing Lightning Lady and Water Man went out on their first date. She bolted there quite early, but he flowed in rather late. He dampened down her glow talking of his best friend the shark. “This isn’t working out,” she said. “I just don’t feel a spark.”
November 5, 2025 at 10:07 AM
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rburrows.bsky.social
Three poems written for @thetoypress.bsky.social #wordoftheweek and #PoemsAbout prompts on #BBCUpload @chrisarnoldinc.bsky.social this week! Thanks everyone! 😊
November 4, 2025 at 8:58 PM
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dreambeastpoems.bsky.social
I usually write a new poem inspired by @thetoypress.bsky.social #wordoftheweek but this week I'd like to share an oldie of mine called 'Sparks' #poems4kids #inventions #poetrycommunity #poetry #sparks #teaching
November 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
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rburrows.bsky.social
Thanks for #wordoftheweek @thetoypress.bsky.social I’m posting this while I’m waiting for a new spark of inspiration! First day back and all that. Watch this space! 😂 #poetry #poetryforkids #bonfirenight #guyfawkes #November5th #fireworks
November 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
I tried to conjure up a fairy tale in response to the #wordoftheweek from @thetoypress.bsky.social . I hope you all enjoy it.

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit #poetryforkids #writingforchildren
A Winter’s Tale Once, on a cold winter evening After darkness blanketed the sky An old woman recited the words Of a fairy tale she’d heard as a child Each word of the story was a spark A glimmer that floated about the room “I’ll catch them in a jar,” she said And they will light my house until spring!” But light is meant for sharing So she told one tale, and then another Crafting lanterns with her words Before scattering them through the woods Once, on a cold winter evening After darkness blanketed the sky A child found lights amidst the snow Illuminating the winding path back home © Shaun Jex
November 3, 2025 at 7:44 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Here is your #wordoftheweek!

#writingcommunity #writingforchildren #writingprompt #poetryforkids #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity
November 3, 2025 at 2:46 PM
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sconnor7.bsky.social
Poem for @thetoypress.bsky.social’s word of the week.
The poem reads: ‘It came back’ He whispers ‘Look! It came back!’ I squint my eyes a little Peer through the silence Through the black ‘Are you sure?’ I hiss in reply ‘I can’t see a thing!’ I count the people in the room There’s only me and him There’s no reply Nothing moves No whispering at all Then through the dark A slow reveal A bloody handprint on the wall
October 31, 2025 at 2:52 PM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
For this week's #wordoftheweek from @thetoypress.bsky.social , I ventured into the world of Grimms' Fairytales.

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit #folklore
Hans My Hedgehog Hans My Hedgehog Hans my boy Spines upon your back With your bagpipes You set out Never to come back In the forest Growing strong Tending to your herd Someday you may Meet a maid Faithful to her word Hans My Hedgehog Hans my lad Longing to be free When your quills have Burned to ash Human you shall be © Shaun Jex
October 28, 2025 at 8:37 PM
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barbarableiman.bsky.social
These prompts are a great stimulus for writing. Here's my latest effort!
October 28, 2025 at 11:32 AM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
It's nearly #Halloween so perhaps not surprising that
@thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek #Back took me in a slightly spooky direction!

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
The Egg Here at the end of the room in the gloom as I bend by my leg is an egg. Nobody knows why it's there they don't care why it glows and how come there's a hum. This eerie sound like a spell from the shell floats around everywhere in the air. I hear a tap. What is hiding inside? Rap-rap-rap and again and again! Then the shell splits and I jump my heart thumps. And my wits! Things go black. IT IS BACK.
October 28, 2025 at 10:22 AM