Valerie Bloom is originally from Jamaica and she came to England in 1979. She spends a huge amount of time at festivals and schools performing and promoting her work, for which she is in great demand. Valerie was awarded an MBE for her services to poetry in 2008. She is also the author of the Smarties Prize Bronze Award winning picture book Fruits - A Caribbean Counting Poem. Valerie lives with her family in Kent.

'Will ignite children's interest in poetry The book's content covers issues from global warming to themes such as bumblebees - both to entertain and provoke discussion' Child Education Plus '[Hot Like Fire and Other Poems] exhibits [Bloom's] strengths: her relish for the peculiarities of language (whether it's turns of phrase or word play, her storytelling skills, her emotional sensitivity, her sense of fun, her ability to enter into a child's world, and, above all, her love of rhythm and the pure sound and pattern of words ... These are the strengths of a poet who, while never stooping to easy crowd pleasing, can enthral an audience with the pure magic of her words' Books for Keeps 'The poems are wonderful to read and are full of colour and rhyme ... great to read alone or with a group' Creative Steps