Pearl Verses the World is a moving, accessible illustrated verse novel about a girl dealing with isolation at school, and with her grandma’s illness at home. The book also sensitively addresses the issues of dementia from a child’s perspective. At school, Pearl feels as though she is in a group of one. Her teacher wants her to write poems that rhyme but Pearl’s poems don’t. At home, however, Pearl feels safe and loved, but her grandmother is slowly fading, and so are Mum and Pearl. When her grandmother eventually passes away, Pearl wants life to go back to the way it was and refuses to talk at the funeral. But she finds the courage to deliver a poem for her grandmother that defies her teacher’s idea of poetry – her poem doesn’t rhyme; it comes from the heart. Teacher’s resources are available for Pearl Verses the World from Walker Books Australia.