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STARS WITH FLAMING TAILS

Name: STARS WITH FLAMING TAILS
Author: Valerie Bloom
ISBN: 978-1-91307-467-8

POEMS

by Valerie Bloom ; illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2021

Tender to tongue-in-cheek, a broad showcase for a versatile writer.

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A compact gathering of new verse on diverse topics, from a British poet born in Jamaica.

Within thematic groupings, Bloom writes of children newly born or bored (“Family and Friends”), of erupting volcanoes (“Our World”), of extinct animals (“Animals”), and of dreams (“Unbelievable?”). In the family section, a child muses on her parents, who are apparently at odds: “They say that they’ll always / Love me forever. / I only wish / They could love me together.” Another section, titled “Fun With Forms,” offers samples of an elfje and of skeltonic verse among more familiar constructions—but, alas, there is no explication of these. Though her casual approach to rhyming and metrics does result in some stumbles (“Once I held inside my palms / the curviness of a bow, / and listened in the cornfield / to the sadness of a scarecrow”), the selections offer a range of moods and some choice wordplay to boot, like this from “Praying Mantis”: “Before a meal, what it will say / Is not ‘Bless this food’ but ‘Let us prey’.” The child on the cover and many of the human figures in the illustrations that accompany nearly every poem are people of color. Outside of anthologies, very little of the veteran poet’s work has made it to the States, so count this for most U.S. readers an unjustly tardy introduction.

Tender to tongue-in-cheek, a broad showcase for a versatile writer. (Poetry. 8-11)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-91307-467-8

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Otter-Barry

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
FRUITS
by Valerie Bloom & illustrated by David Axtell

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OUTSIDE THE BOX

by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Diane Goode ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2014

At once affirming, silly, and poignant: a stunning visual and poetic compendium on growing up.

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A charming, gorgeously illustrated children’s collection of light verse.

Wilson and Goode here combine their comedic artistry to create an edgy and substantial collection of light verse with exquisite accompanying pen-and-ink drawings unafraid to explore childhood’s darker reaches. From typographical play to concrete poems, Wilson pulls out a number of visual poetic stops in inviting readers to “think / outside / the box” and ponder humorous cautionary tales on the perils of fibbing, snitching and sibling rivalry, alongside wildly concocted romps through the imagination. A number of memorable creatures emerge from these pages—for example, “Horace Hippopotamus,” who “ate more than he oughtamus,” and a miffed ladybug, who admonishes: “Stop calling me lady. / Please. I’m a dude!” Awkward situations are celebrated in poems such as “Wishy-Washy,” where the speaker blows out birthday cake candles while silently imploring, “I wish Evan liked me!” Alas, “right then Evan picks his nose, / which turns his finger green!”; horrified, the speaker cries: “Relight the candles… / My first wish was a huge mistake. / I need to trade it in!” Here, as throughout the volume, in but a few strokes, Goode’s pen deftly realizes the moment: the offending finger prominently up Evan’s nose, the speaker’s heart-shaped wish wafting from the birthday candles’ smoke, jaggedly rent in half.

At once affirming, silly, and poignant: a stunning visual and poetic compendium on growing up. (Poetry. 8-11)