Delicious poetry paired with haunting art speaks with authority to the darkness so many kids crave.
Witches, ghosts, arachnids, and more abound in this terrifying compendium of verse.
“No two monsters are alike,” observes Bramer cogently, pairing once more with Derby. This collection introduces readers to the titular Nightmare Jones, a onetime swashbuckler “with a bit of blood on his shoe.” Of the 28 poems, some rhyme, like the oddly triumphant “The Son of a Scorpion,” while most do not. Though many entries are straightforward, others are so rife with odd and evocative imagery that they’re sure to inspire discussion; all are beautifully crafted and appropriately spine-tingling. Particularly outstanding is “Four Seasons in a Witch’s Garden,” which plays off prettified odes to the seasons. Spring is full of “red crocuses / like blood fingers / along the burgeoning path,” while in autumn the witch will “rip things out / incubate their hearts / collect the tubers / smell her own hands.” Derby, who’s always flitted at the edges of creepiness, now fully embraces her own inner Stephen Gammell—known for his illustrations for Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark books—with her grotesquely drippy art; the result feels like a long-lost installment in that series. Though the work is written for children, it has a philosophical bent that could just as easily appeal to younger teens looking for a little goth inspiration.
Delicious poetry paired with haunting art speaks with authority to the darkness so many kids crave. (Poetry/horror. 9-14)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781773069463
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A beautiful, powerful reflection on a tragic history.
In spare verse, Lowry reflects on moments in her childhood, including the bombings of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima.
When she was a child, Lowry played at Waikiki Beach with her grandmother while her father filmed. In the old home movie, the USS Arizona appears through the mist on the horizon. Looking back at her childhood in Hawaii and then Japan, Lowry reflects on the bombings that began and ended a war and how they affected and connected everyone involved. In Part 1, she shares the lives and actions of sailors at Pearl Harbor. Part 2 is stories of civilians in Hiroshima affected by the bombing. Part 3 presents her own experience as an American in Japan shortly after the war ended. The poems bring the haunting human scale of war to the forefront, like the Christmas cards a sailor sent days before he died or the 4-year-old who was buried with his red tricycle after Hiroshima. All the personal stories—of sailors, civilians, and Lowry herself—are grounding. There is heartbreak and hope, reminding readers to reflect on the past to create a more peaceful future. Lowry uses a variety of poetry styles, identifying some, such as triolet and haiku. Pak’s graphite illustrations are like still shots of history, adding to the emotion and somber feeling. He includes some sailors of color among the mostly white U.S. forces; Lowry is white.
A beautiful, powerful reflection on a tragic history. (author’s note, bibliography) (Memoir/poetry. 10-14)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-12940-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
PROFILES
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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