There are some pleasing poems among the 17 offered here on the flora and fauna of the Florida Everglades, their habitat and their habits, and the author’s affection is evident in every one. Unfortunately, at least as many suffer from forced whimsy, inconsistent meter or muddled information. Focus instead on the quilt-art images with which the poems are paired. Although there seems to be no particular connection between the subjects of the poems and the medium chosen to portray them, some of the textile art is striking—sculptural, full of detail, lovely embroidery and clever use of fabric, pattern and color. An acknowledgement lets readers know that a Smithsonian Zoological Society ornithologist has vetted the poems. There is no note about the art or its creation. Occasional factual asides on the pictured wildlife are tucked here and there, but the creatures are not labeled. Older readers will be most able to appreciate the art. Birders and South Floridians might be the best audience. (Poetry. 9+)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59078-352-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Wordsong/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
Don’t let anyone miss this.
Count on award-winning Woodson (Visiting Day, p. 1403, etc.) to present readers with a moving, lyrical, and completely convincing novel in verse.
Eleven-year-old Lonnie (“Locomotion”) starts his poem book for school by getting it all down fast: “This whole book’s a poem ’cause every time I try to / tell the whole story my mind goes Be quiet! / Only it’s not my mind’s voice, / it’s Miss Edna’s over and over and over / Be quiet! . . . So this whole book’s a poem because poetry’s short and / this whole book’s a poem ’cause Ms. Marcus says / write it down before it leaves your brain.” Lonnie tells readers more, little by little, about his foster mother Miss Edna, his teacher Ms. Marcus, his classmates, and the fire that killed his parents and separated him from his sister. Slowly, his gift for observing people and writing it down lets him start to love new people again, and to widen his world from the nugget of tragedy that it was. Woodson nails Lonnie’s voice from the start, and lets him express himself through images and thoughts that vibrate in the different kinds of lines he puts down. He tends to free verse, but is sometimes assigned a certain form by Ms. Marcus. (“Today’s a bad day / Is that haiku? Do I look / like I even care?”) As in her prose novels, Woodson’s created a character whose presence you can feel like they were sitting next to you. And with this first novel-in-verse for her, Lonnie will sit by many readers and teach them to see like he does, “This day is already putting all kinds of words / in your head / and breaking them up into lines / and making the lines into pictures in your mind.”
Don’t let anyone miss this. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-399-23115-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2002
A sensitive, true-to-life narrative that is respectfully and indelibly portrayed.
This coming-of-age novel in verse depicts one boy’s harrowing experiences with his eating disorder in the late 1990s.
Jake Stacey loves rollerblading, Emily Dickinson, Broadway shows, and his grandmother, but he’s not well. Jake has been starving himself since seventh grade—and concerned adults in his life have caught on. They admit Jake against his will to an inpatient program, where he’s treated for anorexia nervosa, depression, and OCD. Jake’s striking first-person voice and the ups and downs of his emotional journey toward healing are centered through a variety of poetic forms and styles, as well as journal entries and confessions Jake makes to an angel statue at a park. Jake experiences grief, gets a feeding tube, confronts horrifying memories of bullying, learns to talk back to “the Voice” of his disorder, befriends another patient, and embraces known and emerging parts of himself without over-explanation or exoticization. The emphasis on internal contradictions and the carefully rendered ending, hinting at hope without promising certainty of recovery, are especially honest and notable. Secondary characters are less well developed, and the middle of the book drags at times. A note from the author, who is white, reveals that Jake’s story is inspired by his own. While Jake, who turns 14 while in treatment, reflects on his emotionally intense tween experiences, his goal setting is relevant to older teens and includes milestones like getting a driver’s license and attending college.
A sensitive, true-to-life narrative that is respectfully and indelibly portrayed. (resources) (Verse fiction. 11-18)Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781536229097
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
