In the Poet to Poet series, a contemporary poet advocates a poet of the past or present whom they have particularly admired. By their selection of verses and their critical reactions, the selectors offer intriguing insights into their own work. Here, Ted Hughes selects Sylvia Plath.

In this series, a contemporary poet selects and introduces a poet of the past. By their choice of poems and by the personal and critical reactions they express in their prefaces, the editors offer insights into their own work as well as providing an accessible and passionate introduction to some of the greatest poets in our literature. Emily Dickinson (1830-86) was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she lived most of her life as a recluse. She published just a handful of poems in her lifetime, her first collection appearing post-humously in 1890.

Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction caused by the Iron Man. A trap is set for him, but he cannot be kept down. Then, when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste to the planet, it is the Iron Man who finds a way to save the world.

Explores various themes such as 'Capturing Animals', 'Wind and Weather' and 'Writing about People'. This book encourages children to think and write for themselves via a discussion of the poems.

First published in 1963, this book by a former Poet Laureate is now regarded as a classic of its kind. It includes 11 stories of what happened to a number of animals, including the owl, whale, polar bear, donkey, hare and the bee.

Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, is tired of being told that she doesn't exist. In this story in verse, Ted Hughes describes how she sets out on the road to London for an audience with the Queen.

Hughes explains how to memorise poetry using a system that gets easier the more it is practised and brings with it its own pleasures of imagination and ingenuity. He then offers 101 poems particularly suited to his method.

Inspired by Hughes's love of fishing and by his environmental activism, these poems are a passionately attentive chronicle of change over the course of the seasons. West Country rivers predominate ('The West Dart' and 'Torridge'), but other poems imagine or recall Japanese rivers or Celtic rivers.

Ted Hughes's remarkable 'Pennine sequence' celebrates the area where he spent his early childhood. It mixes social, political, religious and historical matter - a tapestry rich in the personal and poetic investment of a landscape that both creates and is inured to its people.

Ffangs lives with the other vampires on Vampire Island, but he is different from the rest - he can't stand the sight of blood When he arrives in London, everyone is too frightened to listen when he explains that he only wants to be human. And soon he finds himself alone in Buckingham Palace to face Thomas the Vampire Hunter.