(1) YA Grimes reconstructs her life story from a patchwork of recollections; old photos; and a few artifacts salvaged despite her impoverished family's frequent moves and time in foster care. Mental illness, alcoholism, domestic violence, and sexual abuse made Grime's early life hazardous and traumatic; writing offered solace and confidence. Striking free-verse poems powerfully convey how her passion helped her survive and embrace her own resilience. A must-read for aspiring writers.

Reviewer: Michelle H. Martin | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jana Christy. A diverse set of children take turns detailing their growth milestones in this collection of rhyming verse, a few of which are--very effectively--written in two voices. The colorful digital drawings depict each child learning to ride a bike, attend a birthday party, go onstage, etc. The final poignant poem about a girl and her new sibling circles neatly back to the title.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Edson Ikê. Twenty-two poems, ranging from humorous to imaginative to inspirational, make for a lively soccer-themed volume. "Saturday Morning," a haiku poem, is a pitch-perfect (pun intended) example: "the grass / trembles at our feet-- / game time." A final page briefly explains all thirteen poetic forms Steinglass employs. Young cleat-clad players have different skin colors and hairstyles in Ikê's digital illustrations.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Serge Bloch. Poems by Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis, and others introduce a peppy group of punctuation marks, including the "forgotten" colon and a very excitable exclamation point. The humorous verses serve to help explicate meaning and usage. Clever and sophisticated pen-and-ink drawings showcase each punctuation mark in a bold, personified fashion, further bringing them to life. Teachers especially will appreciate this collection.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ellen Shi. This poetry compilation explores the many different adults one might find in a school--teacher, librarian, nurse, custodian, etc.--each with his or her own poem and spread. With both rhyming and free verse from fourteen different poets, the collection is nicely varied. Shi's soft, full-bleed digital illustrations complement the verses well. A great way to introduce brand-new students to different people in their school.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Bayless. Even poetry-averse children should find their imaginations piqued when bugs take center stage to describe their lives at "Crawly School" in humorous verses. Ticks, termites, dung beetles, and others all have their say in a variety of rhymes and meters with playful wordplay. Bayless's watercolor, ink, colored-pencil, and digital-media illustrations should elicit giggles--particularly scenes of the syringe-toting mosquito school nurse.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Johanna Wright. Lewis's parodies of famous poems are as much homage as humor. Though his scansion isn't perfect, his intentions are commendable, and many of the verses even provide deeper understanding of the original poetry. Carl Sandburg's "Fog" sings a duet with Lewis's "Hail"; Issa's toad converses companionably with Lewis's tiger. Expressively cartooned acrylics complement the playful text with characters of many colors and species.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke. This collection of twenty-three poems celebrates all kinds of reading, from a new reader understanding "letters make words" to reading for pleasure by flashlight. With a gently varying meter, the poems are read-aloud perfect; the bright digital illustrations are a pleasing accompaniment. Standouts include "Stories," in which a girl learns about grief from Charlotte's Web, and a grandpa's gift of a poem in "Birthday Card."

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Josée Masse. Poetry and mixed-media cutaway art blend beautifully in this collection of gently connected verses about what lies under our feet. Tree roots and seeds, fossils and tunnels, a basement, and pirate treasure all take center stage by turns, in rhythms perfect for reading aloud. The concluding poem draws everything together, and the endnotes about each poem combine science with the author's observations and experience.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(2) 4-6 Garvey is an overweight boy tormented by name-calling at school: "lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubs." His life changes when his best friend suggests he join the school chorus. Employing the Japanese poetic form of tanka, Grimes reveals Garvey's thoughts, feelings, and observations; the spare poetry is a good vehicle for a young man's attempts to articulate the puzzle that is his life.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(3) 4-6 Katharen (a.k.a. Keet), who loves to talk and tell stories, moves with her African American family from Alabama to Illinois. She has difficulty adjusting and retreats within herself until her much-loved grandfather and new Spanish-speaking friend Allegra help her find her voice again. The affecting first-person account is written in various poetic forms (a poetry glossary is included) that deftly capture characterization and emotions.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mique Moriuch. Twenty-one poems about various fruits, vegetables, and other farmers' market items offer unconventional literary images, such as how potatoes are "crooked as a 'come here' finger," and how okra are "mouse-sized swords." The childlike perspectives of the poems are further upheld by simple, playful images rendered in acrylic and collage. Educators with school gardens may appreciate the book's cross-curriculum opportunities. Recipes are appended.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Angela Matteson. This poetry book, a collaborative "reinvention" of fourteen Mother Goose nursery rhymes, focuses on alternative points of view. For example, there are two poems for "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe": one from the perspective of the shoe and the other from that of the old woman's children. While pleasingly illustrated with acrylic and colored pencil on wood board, the interpretations ultimately prove uneven as a whole.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jane Manning. This collection offers fifteen poems about the magic of libraries from authors such as Lee Bennett Hopkins, Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, and Alice Schertle. Manning's playful gouache and pencil illustrations illuminate the collection's simple focus; each poem expresses the same jubilant emotional reaction to the many things a library has to offer, from storytime to exploring the internet.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(2) 4-6 Poets Lewis and Lyon here give voice to a cross-section of the 250,000 participants of the 1963 March on Washington: from first grader Ruby May Hollingsworth and Aki Kimura, a Japanese American sent to an internment camp during WWII, to Coretta Scott King. Many fine works on the civil rights movement are available; this adds the power of poetic imagination. Reading list, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(3) 4-6 Photographs by Jan Sonnenmair. This book invites readers to experience a Navajo Nation rodeo. While focusing on adult competitions (bronco riding, steer wrestling, etc.), Flood doesn't ignore the roles children play. Double-page spreads feature some combination of free-verse poems, narrative accounts of events, and snippets of the announcer's dialogue: "Ladies and gents, give a big warm welcome to our youngest competitors." Well-chosen photographs accompany the readable text. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) 4-6 After Gabby's dad moved out, she "didn't cry. Instead, / I filled the quiet / with daydreams." She has trouble paying attention at school until a new teacher recognizes her love of words and allows Gabby time to write poetry. Told in free verse, this is a very accessible story about an appealing child who transforms from introverted daydreamer to writer.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Photographs by Frederic B. Siskind. Each double-page spread "exhibit" in The Face Bug Museum consists of a poem, a cartoonish but detailed line drawing, and an extreme close-up photo of the subject. Varied forms keep the poems about insects' and other creepy-crawlies' adaptations surprising. A "word from our bugs" expounding further on each species concludes this visually compelling interdisciplinary field guide to tiny creatures.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Mahurin. Each of fifteen well-known fairy tales is distilled into two short poems, one written by Yolen, the other by Dotlich. The perspectives are mostly different and are often those of characters--or inanimate objects such as the princess's pea--not usually heard from in the traditional tales. Mahurin's varied, painterly illustrations help reinforce meaning of the occasionally oblique writing.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Dan Burr. This compilation of twenty-two poems presents a clear image of cowboy life by touching on issues such as branding, the bunkhouse, stampedes, and cattle drives. The free verse, written in country vernacular, is rhythmic and filled with genuine-feeling details. Burr's digital paintings create a rugged southwestern setting of hardship, toil, and beauty. An addendum on cowboy history extends the offering.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg