A unique body of delightful poems offering a safe space for kids to explore their ever-shifting emotions.
An eclectic collection of poems based on subjects and specific prompts suggested by kids.
The Typewriter Rodeo is a group of professional poets (Petrie, Bendheim, Benedict, Egerton, Gerlach, and Kirkpatrick) who take their vintage typewriters to public places (festivals, museums, and the like) to write free poems for anyone who comes up and suggests a prompt. Poems requested by children and teenagers have been cleaned up and collected in this volume, with each poem identifying the topic requested and by whom (at the top) and the poet who wrote it (at the bottom). The poems are divided into different sections, such as “poems of identity,” “scary poems,” and “poems of hope.” Text boxes appear every few pages, offering poetry-writing tips (“Play with where your words land on the page, to capture the energy of your poem”) or providing a bit more insight into a particular poem’s background (“My next-door neighbor, a girl named Nora, loved to climb the tree between our yards”). The subjects of the poems vary wildly, from Tartarus to trampolines, as do the poems’ tones—there’s both the sentimental “Dirt Streaks & Marshmallow Cheeks” and the Dr. Seuss–like “Oh the Places You’ll Never Go (Capybara Dreams).” The writing advice is occasionally repetitive (two different boxes suggest ending a poem with a variation of the beginning), but it may prove useful to beginners. Because the book is divided into separate sections, readers can easily flip to whatever passage fits their particular mood. Positive, inspiring messages abound—particularly in those poems tackling the difficulties that can come from being oneself. Roots “are ancient messages / creating shade offering plentiful fruit / they don’t listen or respond / they do not tell you what to do.” Full of fun rhymes and deep musings, this bountiful collection expertly balances whimsy and empathy.
A unique body of delightful poems offering a safe space for kids to explore their ever-shifting emotions.Pub Date: June 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781961853126
Page Count: 283
Publisher: Burlwood Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale.
The classic picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets a makeover for Easter as the letters of the alphabet locate and decorate eggs.
The mission is simple: “Chicka chicka peek peek. / Everybody seek seek! / Find all the eggs / in the pretty pink tree.” The letters are making their way up the flowering tree in search of the hidden eggs when a “SNEEZE!” scatters everyone and the eggs fall and crack. Luckily, a bunny hops by with a haul of new ones, which the letters then paint and bedazzle, eventually sharing the newly decorated eggs with a group of bunnies. This picture book is a successfully Easter-fied version of the original: The letters go up; the letters fall down. Truly, though, that’s all the preschool crowd needs. Chung’s illustrations are simple and familiar, a direct echo of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The letters appear in colorful, bold, block form. The book has few added details, just focal images like the tree and its pink flowers, the colorful eggs, tufts of grass, and some friendly rabbits. The alphabet appears in order (both upper- and lowercase letters) at the book’s open and close. The rhyming text follows the iconic cadence of the source material, making for a worthy read-aloud that will keep little hands turning pages.
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781665990646
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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