Paired throughout with Preston-Gannon’s evocative, vibrantly textured digital illustrations, Waters’ superbly curated poems...
A year’s worth of nature poems and illustrations for all ages in a massive collaboration between two Brits.
Measuring approximately 10 by 11 inches high and over 1 inch thick, Waters’ collected 366 lyric selections hail from more than 90 poets recognized as pillars of the Western canon—Shakespeare, Dickinson, Wordsworth, Blake, Cummings—as well as a handful of poets from other cultures as well as modern children’s stalwarts. While the age-old celebration of seasons and passage of time must be among the most common ways nature anthologies are organized, what sets this collection apart is how the differing perspectives work together. Waters makes sure, whether nature’s many creatures or states of being happen to be personified or objectified, that the unifying themes of environmental conservation and respect for creatures great and small (“Hurt no living thing,” advises Christina Rossetti) come clearly across. This isn’t to say the volume doesn’t offer numerous examples of light verse, such as Tony Mitton’s salute to a plum—“Don’t feel beaten. / You were made / to be eaten”—or selections from fun masters Ogden Nash and JonArno Lawson. Alongside these playful stanzas are hundreds of reflective poems, showcasing natural wonders often with mere syllables, as in “White Sound” by Julie O’Callaghan: “When rain / whispers / it is snow.”
Paired throughout with Preston-Gannon’s evocative, vibrantly textured digital illustrations, Waters’ superbly curated poems offer something for everyone: majestic and inspiring as nature itself. (Poetry. 5-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0247-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A substantive and affirming addition to any collection.
An impressive array of names, events, and concepts from Black history are introduced in this alphabet book for early-elementary readers.
From A for anthem(“a banner of song / that wraps us in hope, lets us know we belong”) to Z for zenith(“the top of that mountain King said we would reach”), this picture book is a journey through episodes, ideas, and personalities that represent a wide range of Black experiences. Some spreads celebrate readers themselves, like B for beautiful(“I’m talking to you!”); others celebrate accomplishments, such as E for explore(Matthew Henson, Mae Jemison), or experiences, like G for the Great Migration. The rhyming verses are light on the tongue, making the reading smooth and soothing. The brightly colored, folk art–style illustrations offer vibrant scenes of historical and contemporary Black life, with common people and famous people represented in turn. Whether reading straight through and poring over each page or flipping about to look at the refreshing scenes full of brown and black faces, readers will feel pride and admiration for the resilience and achievements of Black people and a call to participate in the “unfinished…American tale.” Endnotes clarify terms and figures, and a resource list includes child-friendly books, websites, museums, and poems.
A substantive and affirming addition to any collection. (Informational picture book. 6-11)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5235-0749-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An incredible connector text for young readers eager to graduate to weighty conversations about our yesterday, our now, and...
Past and present are quilted together in this innovative overview of black Americans’ triumphs and challenges in the United States.
Alexander’s poetry possesses a straightforward, sophisticated, steady rhythm that, paired with Nelson’s detail-oriented oil paintings, carries readers through generations chronicling “the unforgettable,” “the undeniable,” “the unflappable,” and “the righteous marching ones,” alongside “the unspeakable” events that shape the history of black Americans. The illustrator layers images of black creators, martyrs, athletes, and neighbors onto blank white pages, patterns pages with the bodies of slaves stolen and traded, and extends a memorial to victims of police brutality like Sandra Bland and Michael Brown past the very edges of a double-page spread. Each movement of Alexander’s poem is a tribute to the ingenuity and resilience of black people in the U.S., with textual references to the writings of Gwendolyn Brooks, Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes, and Malcolm X dotting stanzas in explicit recognition and grateful admiration. The book ends with a glossary of the figures acknowledged in the book and an afterword by the author that imprints the refrain “Black. Lives. Matter” into the collective soul of readers, encouraging them, like the cranes present throughout the book, to “keep rising.”
An incredible connector text for young readers eager to graduate to weighty conversations about our yesterday, our now, and our tomorrow. (Picture book/poetry. 6-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-78096-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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