An exciting and original poet ... He is prepared to take risks. He challenges with rich and unusual language, and he takes poetry for children into a territory of strong emotions, often hauntingly expressed. There is no one else writing quite as he does. -- Helen Dunmore Poetry Review ... an elegant exhibition of craftsmanship and intellectual mystery ... You go back to Philip Gross's poems as they re-echo in your head ... Here is writing at the upper edge of children's poetry -- Signal Award judges' report Signal Award for Poetry for Children Philip Gross has pioneered a new form of writing for young readers in which he sets Everest-high standards not only in content but also in the skilful use of form, construction, rhyme and rhythm in the poems. Scratch City deserves to be widely read. It is thought-provoking, enriching and a fine example of craftsmanship in creative writing Junior Bookshelf This is a world of playful conceits and chilly intimations in which voices carry on the wind, lost souls press for recognition, doors become mirrors and mirrors doors. Wordplay is the key to understanding, and the whole enterprise is cleverly designed to nudge young readers into an awareness... that through their own writing they can unlock more than they might have bargained for. -- Times Educational Supplement