A handsome volume translated from the Dutch offers poems in many forms for every season as well as ample inspiration for classroom use. A petal-filled haiku on a two-page spread bursting with lush greenery awakens readers to spring; on the following page, a knobby-kneed lamb and a rondel about new life signal March’s arrival.
Poetry
In the Desert
A standout collection of clever, engaging poems about animals and insects living in the Sahara begins by setting the desert scene, where sun “blinds the sky / and scrapes the land / clean like a butcher / with his favorite knife.”
Poetry Comics
A collection of original poems full of quiet surprises and small moments of pleasure is presented in comic format. Organized around the seasons, many of the short poems explore familiar scenes and subjects (e.g., nature, swimming, back to school, snow), but offer the delight of the unexpected in moments of reflection, fresh observation, and wondering.
Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life
A biography written in free verse and concrete poems details the life and work of Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage, best known for creating The Harp for the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
Ain’t Burned All the Bright
A singular verse novel set across a series of moments and minutes on a day in the summer of 2020 is comprised of three sentences, three “Breaths,” sharply observed and deeply felt, set against sophisticated collage illustrations.
Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
Grimes focuses on women poets of the Harlem Renaissance to draw attention to these generally lesser known yet talented writers of that time, offering up a selection of poems that she in turns uses as inspiration for poems of her own.
Say Her Name: Poems to Empower
“Black girl / you are more than magic / you are a miracle …” (from “Black Girl Miracle”). A collection of poems centered around Black female experience explores themes of racism, violence, body image, misogyny, but also, so importantly, self-love, sisterhood, strength, and the miracle of survival.
A Portrait in Poems: The Storied Life of Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas
A pitch-perfect picture book about Gertrude Stein’s life in Paris focuses on her art collection, her writing, her famous Salon, and her relationship with Alice B. Toklas.
Cast Away: Poems for Our Time
Lifelong litter picker upper Naomi Shihab Nye documents and reflects on the leavings of our existence in keenly observant, probing, unabashed poems.
Brown Girl Dreaming
“And somehow, one day, it’s just there / speckled black-and white, the paper / inside smelling like something I could fall right into, / live there — inside those clean white pages.” Jacqueline Woodson’s childhood unfolds in poems that beautifully reveal details of her early life and her slow but gradually certain understanding that words and stories and writing were essential to her. Her older sister was shining smart. One of her brothers could sing wonderfully. She would come to realize words were her smart, her singing, her special thing.