Sabina Laura is a writer, poet and illustrator living in the United Kingdom. She loves music, drawing, nature, and playing the piano. Her debut poetry collection, “Moonflower” was published in February 2020 and her next publication, “A little sunshine and a little rain: A Poetry Journal” will be available from 9 March 2021.

“A little sunshine and a little rain” is divided into the four seasons to spark the imagination throughout the year. The journal includes a helpful introduction, some of Sabina’s short poems, poetry prompts and many lined pages to fill with writing.

She has created a work which is both accessible to people who have never written a poem and to advanced poets who may have lost the impetus to write. As many poets know the judgment of perfectionism can be crippling; it can stop you from starting. This journal provides a safe space where you can keep your writing private.

The journal is visibly enchanting and provides some structure and encouragement to write. Sabina’s illustrations are beautiful and delicate which makes the pages unique.

This is a different practice to using the Notes App on your iPhone to type down lines so you won’t forget them. As Natalie Goldberg puts it, “Handwriting is more connected to the movement of the heart”.

Writing down your ideas and thoughts and drafting poems in a journal are creative ways of looking after yourself and it’s important to have fun with that creativity. Approach these pages with compassion and understanding, accept what comes up and be kind to yourself.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @FrancisLincolnPub for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book. It's a notebook / journal to write your own poems and thoughts in based on the seasons and weather. There are idea concepts and pictures to help guide you through. I had this as an eBook but wouldn't hesitate to buy the paper version too, Love, love, love!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

okay, I adore this book.. seriously.
I"m not usually much for journaling, even though I've really wanted to try.
I'm a huge fan of poetry and how emotional / powerful / raw it can be.
This journal checked off a lot of boxes fo rme. I can't wait to buy a physical version.

I enjoyed the poems, the prompts were handy and not cliched and the info at the beginning can be a helpful guide for a writer with writers block. But the image used on page 174 is of a Native American dream catcher and that is cultural appropriation. I will assume the images are not designed and play’s by the writer but that needs to be adjusted and removed.

This is a lovely workbook made to motivate and inspire poets, both beginner and experienced. The sections are broken up into the four seasons with prompts that encourage writers to write poems using certain words, styles, feelings and settings. All poets struggle with inspiration sometimes and this is a great way to get the creative juices flowing. The only reason I won't be buying this for my library is because it is a workbook.

This was an early copy that I ask cause I am lover of poetry.
This book is very helpful for those people who are starting writing poetry this book is full of exercises and examples to write about.
I read it so fast but am gonna take my time to do every poem is request.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book begins with an introduction to the beauty of poetry, and mention that even the most experienced writers can experience a lack of motivation. It then goes on to explain a few poetry terms/techniques, and then breaks into four main sections - each dedicated to one of the four seasons - filled with prompts.

What I really liked about this that prompts were not limited to specific instructions. There were sample poems in various styles, as well as a few small images throughout. As someone who enjoys writing but doesn't make enough time for it, this journal sparked ideas in my head and reminded me about the joy to be found in poetry. I can imagine buying this book for friends and diving into it myself with a print copy and a pencil in my hand. This is a writing journal worth picking up.

This was such a great concept! I love the idea of having a poetry journal to help you write poetry, with prompts and ideas, as well as including ACTUAL poems! Highly recommend for those who want to start writing poetry - or just those who want to challenge themselves and write with these prompts!

⨳3.5⨳

A poetry journal..something I never thought I'd ever be going through.

I've been writing for a while now, just to give my jumbled up thoughts a place to be and though I have no poetry bone in my hollow mortal body, I've been dabbling in some that should never see the light of the day.

This little journal starts with notes on various linguistic techniques and structures poets use (& you can, too). I loved this part, I never even knew I was using alliteration with acrostic! It's further divided into parts with seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter with creative prompts like "write a poem including the words 'embers', 'burn' and 'smoke' and my fav-"write a piece of prose about the sound of the waves crashing and the warmth of the sun against your skin."

There are cute illustrations and little poems to keep your creativity flowing and I believe it can be really helpful to beginners. I've used this for a month now (in my diary, since I received a digital copy) I would definitely want to own a physical copy of this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was not what I thought it would be. It gives very little by way of inspiration, such as "write a poem about...."

This is a really fun workbook if you enjoy writing poetry or you’re trying to get into it. I personally really love most print journals so this was right up my alley!

I want to start by saying this is a great idea to get people to journal and write poetry however I became very annoyed by the lack of capitalisation in the writing to me if you are trying to encourage good writing then the basics are a must.

Loved this journal - the colours are just gorgeous and this would make the perfect gift for poetry lovers.

A great and inspirational journal for people who love poetry and write poetry.

The introduction begins with an eternal saying, ‘poetry changes the way we see the world’. It offers a few tips on how to get started.

Linguistic techniques, poetry structure, rhyming patterns and punctuation are briefly discussed. Then the journal takes through the four seasons providing prompts and words to craft poetry of your heart.

I absolutely loved the musings and poems in the journal.
A great addition to your library offering incredible motivation to your imagination.

This is an interesting peotry guiding journal. It is divided into four parts, each named after one of the four seasons. It has practice exercises, each one is unique and brings out a different way of writing poetry. Really enjoyed it!

In the introduction, the author notes tips to improve poetry and give inspiration. Then goes over some linguistic techniques (such as metaphors) - briefly describing what they are and how to use them. It also talks about a few ways to structure a poem such as a haiku. 

The journal is then spilt into the 4 seasons and gives a prompt, space to write your poem and an example poem to give inspiration. For the purpose of this review, I didn’t try out all the prompts, but the ones I did I loved and created some wonderful draft poems. I really liked how the prompts related to the season. Just from the prompts I did and reading the others, I can see how inspiring this book will be and I’m excited to go back and work through the book properly. 

This is a wonderful prompt book anyone can access. Even beginner and experienced poets will find this inspiring, and even writers who haven’t dabbled in poetry before can use this to improve their overall writing. It was beautifully presented with lovely illustrations throughout. 5 out of 5 stars!

A very great concept with some wonderful poetry to keep you inspired in A little sunshine and a little rain by Sabina Laura.

I requested this because I am on a long quest to understand and appreciate poetry a bit better. While I can understand more of the modern poetry than classic poetry, I don't always feel like it has a lot of depth, and the magic in the words that some of the older poetry does. So when I read the description of this I thought perhaps I could use this as a way to expand my understanding of poetry a bit more.

It offered some really interesting insights, and being a person who frequently writes for my own cathartic and personal use, it provided some inspiring prompts and education around what I'm actually doing when I simply spill what's inside me onto paper (i.e. - screen).

I'll be thinking about and revisiting this often.

I really liked this book. Sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration and it gave you a nice platform to follow

I absolutely love the premise of the book: prompts to accustom oneself to the idea of poetry. It's quite daunting. At least for me, when I think of poetry, I think of fancy writers with fine tastes of artistry who have an innate sense for the subject, not people like me with no substantial English language background. The book's a great gateway into the world of writing at large, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in starting it.