Hopkins and Alcorn (Hoofbeats, Claws, and Rippled Fins, p. 46, etc.) repeat their successful collaboration with a new themed collection. Fifteen poets were commissioned to write about the special places in America that are dear to their hearts. The poets seem to have been selected by the diversity of their geographical locations. Perhaps it was originally intended as a kind of journey through America; what has emerged is a rather powerful sense of Americans who not only love their country, but their particular corner of it. The poets describe the beauty of a beloved place, or the life-affecting significance of that place. Many indicate a sense of spiritual ownership with the repeated use of possessive pronouns. Joan Bransfield Graham writes, “What do I like best about the sea? The fact that it belongs to ME!” Similarly Patricia Hubbell writes, “On my island far at sea, this island-home to me.” Other poets feel the deep roots of home as a connection to the past and a sense of belonging. Joseph Bruchac understands that “hidden roots still give you strength.” While roaming along mountain trails Fran Haraway knows “if briefly, where I am and where I plan on going.” These are the farms, islands, small towns, deserts, mountains, prairies, and cities, each place unnamed, a place of the heart rather than a particular dot on a map. Each poem is given a two-page spread with a banner title. Alcorn’s softly colored, stylized illustrations interpret the text in imagery that is both literal and figurative. The wind blows on the prairie, mermaids swirl in the waves, a loon splashes in the lake, a farmer milks a cow, and a child waves to neighbors. The endpapers are decorated with samples of the places encountered in the poems. Hopkins provides a thoughtful introduction, and an afterword that introduces each poet and where they live. A lovely work. (Poetry. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-439-34096-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
Affecting and hopeful.
A stray dog finds her destiny amid the chaos of a Southern California wildfire.
Wombat is a small dog with stubby legs and “silly ears / that look like furry cookies”—almost impossibly cute in Bricking’s occasional pencil-style vignettes. She’s mastered the art of survival, so when a mysterious internal voice prods her to go toward the fire, she resists. “The wrong way is the right way. / The right way is the wrong way,” the voice insists. When she tells fellow stray Silas about it, he tells Wombat she’s a “destiny dog,” bound to “find their person / before their person / can find them.” Convinced, she decides to follow the mysterious instructions. Meanwhile, Henry, a boy who’s leery of dogs, loves the bats at the wildlife rehabilitation center where Mama Ro, a veterinarian, works; his Mama J is a librarian. Henry and Barnabas, a fruit bat at the center, are both uprooted by the fire, and their paths converge with Wombat’s at an emergency shelter. The third-person perspective shifts from character to character in clusters of free-verse poems that fully immerse readers in each one’s experiences in turn. This extra-concentrated delivery of Applegate’s typically spare writing proves effective, balancing terror and sadness with heart and humor. Henry has light brown skin, Mama Ro has curly black hair and brown skin, and Mama J presents white.
Affecting and hopeful. (Verse fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780063221178
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch.
Basketball-playing twins find challenges to their relationship on and off the court as they cope with changes in their lives.
Josh Bell and his twin, Jordan, aka JB, are stars of their school basketball team. They are also successful students, since their educator mother will stand for nothing else. As the two middle schoolers move to a successful season, readers can see their differences despite the sibling connection. After all, Josh has dreadlocks and is quiet on court, and JB is bald and a trash talker. Their love of the sport comes from their father, who had also excelled in the game, though his championship was achieved overseas. Now, however, he does not have a job and seems to have health problems the parents do not fully divulge to the boys. The twins experience their first major rift when JB is attracted to a new girl in their school, and Josh finds himself without his brother. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story.
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch. (Verse fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-10771-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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