National Geographic and J. Patrick Lewis work well together. In 2007 they released The Brother’s War: Civil War Voices in Verse. It was a solemn, evocative and gut churning collection that stays in my mind even today. But, could we expect less of the U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate? The answer, of course is no and to prove my point, NatGeo—as we hipsters refer to them—and Lewis have done it again.
The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry is a treat. It’s more than a treat, it’s a triumph. The combination of stunning photos–as only Nat Geo can seems to be able to produce—and the writings of some of America’s best poets lights up the imagination and thrills the soul. It doesn’t hurt that a “parent /child” photo of a giraffes, one of my favorite animals, graces the cover. The book entices the reader with a subtitle that states, “200 poems with photographs that squeak, soar and ROAR!”
Mr. Lewis has chosen a wide variety authors who represent an even wider variety of styles—19th century, 20th century or 21st century; lighthearted, silly, or serious; rhyming verse, haiku or concrete poems. It’s all there, all carefully chosen by Mr. Lewis and all perfectly matched to the photography.
Don’t miss a chance to share these little gems with a favorite child or better yet, just curl up in a comfy spot and let yourself go wild among the animals.
Posted by: Eileen
School. Just that very word makes some of us jump for joy while others shed a sad tear. Whether you are a student or teacher returning to the classroom or a parent or loved one secretly smiling as they pack their students off to school, this book promises smiles all around.
Mother Goose nursery rhymes are little treasures. Not only do they have rhyme and rhythm, which make them easy to remember and delight the ears of young children, but they are such interesting and innovative little stories – by turns comical, sweet, doleful (rain rain go away), and downright mysterious. They also hold much history in their words 
It’s not often that the combination of picture book and haiku get “mashed-up.” Andrew Clements used a series of haikus to tell his story, Dogku but as endearing as the book is, those were more a series of poems fit to describe the dog and his family. In Won Ton, Wardlaw is able to tell the story using only haiku and it doesn’t seem stilted or strained—not that Clements’ did, it was wonderful, too.
Having always been a big fan of the silly and humorous poetry of Shel Silverstein, you can imagine my delight to discover a new book of 145 of his unpublished poems. Mr. Silverstein died in 1999 and I was certain that would end the publication of any more of his iconic white covered poetry books.
I have always found the traditional Mother Goose ditties to be dated and old-fashioned. As cute as some of the rhymes might be, who knows what a peck of pickled peppers is? Who knows about maids a-courting or maids a-waiting? What are curds and whey? What are swine and farthings? Well, along has come a great new ‘recycled’ version of Mother Goose, filled with hilarious earth-friendly bits of rhyming wisdom. 
I love October! The weather turns cold, the fall colors are in full swing and I get to recommend monster books all month long! Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich is one of my favorites. You can’t go wrong with short, illustrated poems with titles like: The Creature from the Black Lagoon Doesn’t Wait an Hour before Swimming, The Invisible Man Gets a Haircut, and Count Dracula Doesn’t Know He’s Been Walking Around All Night with Spinach in his Teeth.
One of the main things that causes a poem to be great is if it is true. It doesn’t need to be epic, or shocking, or about global events, it just needs to be real.
This story involves a fierce hurricane at sea in the Caribbean in about 1509 when the Spanish were exploring and conquering the new world. A pirate ship goes down and the three survivors are a boy who had been taken captive and made to work on the ship, the pirate captain and his prisoner, the cruel governor of Venezuela who killed many natives and sold some into slavery. The boy called Quebrado by the pirate, finds a home with the Indians on the island where the hurricane has left him and warns them about the pirate and the governor. Quebrado also becomes a friend of a fisherman, Narido, and the girl he loves, Caucubu. Caucubu’s family want her to marry a powerful cacique but she and Narido have been close since they were both little and they want to marry.
