More sly poetry prompts, embedded in a raucous romp.
In a second round of Mesozoic mischief, two prehistoric poets continue to hone their craft while trying to avoid being eaten by toothy critics.
Having established in the opener that being “Poetry Pals” is far better than being predator and prey, Coelophysis and Frog set off to see the world and learn to write about it. They start by alternating spontaneous rhyming lines, advance to two-word poems that they dub “Blue Poos,” and finish up with “sound poems” created with a chorus of hooting, honking Parasaurolophus. Along the way, a supposedly bad—but really funny—poem (“How does a T-Rex pick his nose? / Arms too short, so he uses his toes!”) leads to a frantic flight from its irate subject, while an Archeopteryx named Hope drops in and out of view to fuel bits of wordplay and a wistful concrete poem from smitten Coelophysis: “I hope / to see / Hope / soon / and / hopefully / Hope / hopes / what I / hope.” Like the poems, the illustrations seem both simple and unpolished at first and, OK, second glances. But the hand-lettered verses and the googly-eyed dinos, both of which Angleberger places on layered swatches of creased and deckle-edged paper for a 3-D look, carry more than enough vim to leave budding poets roaring to join this brand-new writer’s group in its collective closing “ALL RIGHT!!!! Let’s WRITE!!!”
More sly poetry prompts, embedded in a raucous romp. (author’s note, further reading) (Graphic fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781419772825
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Abrams Fanfare
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
A wacky tale jam-packed with prehistoric hijinks and weird science.
Ari’s odorous T-shirt comes in handy on an unexpected trip to the Cretaceous Period.
New in town, Ari hasn’t made a single friend, though next-door neighbor Mr. Jakes’ frequent visits indicate his interest in Ari’s mom, an inventor who’s been deemed a “mad scientist” for her unusual experiments. Ari takes all this in stride, mostly. Mom’s latest project is a time portal that will allow her and Ari to retrieve piles of clean clothes from “the last time we washed, dried, and folded our laundry.” It’s a necessary creation; Ari’s been wearing a T-shirt that started to smell “four and one quarter days ago,” according to TED, Mom’s snarky, ice cube–size supercomputer. They decide to travel six weeks back in time, but when the portal overshoots their goal, Ari, Mom, TED, and Ari’s pet turtle, Fred, find themselves 60 million years in the past. Fred nearly becomes prey to a Tyrannosaurus, but fortunately the funk from Ari’s shirt is enough to scare off even a ferocious dinosaur. And, just maybe, there’s a better solution to the laundry problem—one that might bring Mom and Mr. Jakes a bit closer. The fast-moving story is filled with wild antics. Ari’s affection for Mom comes through clearly and humorously, and the book sets up the possibility of future mishaps. Goofy cartoons match the energy of the lighthearted adventures; characters have skin the white of the page.
A wacky tale jam-packed with prehistoric hijinks and weird science. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942973
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A luminous call to think about what is and to envision what might be.
In U.S. Poet Laureate Limón’s debut picture book, soaring images and lyrics invite contemplation of life’s wonders—on Earth and perhaps, tantalizingly, elsewhere.
“O second moon,” writes Limón, “we, too, are made / of water, // of vast and beckoning seas.” In visual responses to a poem that will be carried by NASA’s Europa Clipper, a probe scheduled for launch in October 2024 and designed to check Jupiter’s ice-covered ocean moon for possible signs of life, Sís offers flowing glimpses of earthly birds and whales, of heavenly bodies lit with benevolent smiles, and a small light-skinned space traveler flying between worlds in a vessel held aloft by a giant book. Following the undulations of the poet’s cadence, falling raindrops give way to shimmering splashes, then to a climactic fiery vision reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night before finishing with mirrored human figures made of stars. Visual images evocative of the tree of life presage what Límon writes in her afterword: that her poem is as much about “our own precious planet” as it is about what may lie in wait for us to discover on others. “We, too, are made of wonders, of great / and ordinary loves, // of small invisible worlds, // of a need to call out through the dark.”
A luminous call to think about what is and to envision what might be. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781324054009
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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