Poetry

Poetry genre

My Village

My Village is a beautiful collection featuring nursery rhymes and verses from around the world: New Zealand, China, Australia, Norway, Ireland, Tonga, Jamaica, Japan, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Indonesia, Denmark, Iran, Germany, Samoa, Switzerland, Russia, Brazil, France, Holland, Iceland, and India. Readers delight in quirky, touching, and funny verses from the 22 different countries, brought vividly to life by the appealingly fresh artwork from exciting young illustrator Mique Moriuchi, who captures each verse with a uniquely beautiful and child’s-eye focus. Danielle Wright has included some familiar rhymes along with others that are less well known. Internationally acclaimed poet and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen introduces the collection, discussing the origins of nursery rhymes as well as reviewing some of his favorites. Also endorsed by the International Youth Library, this book is an essential addition to any school or library.

The Originals: Animals That Time Forgot

They’re weird. They’re unusual. They have four horns and shaggy red fur. And they haven’t changed in hundreds, even thousands of years! They’re the originals–animals that, unlike their barnyard relatives, never evolved from their primitive states. Come meet the four-horned Hebridean sheep, brought to Scotland by Viking raiders, the tiny Exmoor ponies that roam the fog-filled moors of England, and the rest of these modern ancients. Jane Yolen’s childlike story poems and Ted Lewin’s light-infused water-color illustrations capture all the mystique of these remarkable animals.

Bananas in My Ears

From the chaos of breakfast to the calm of bedtime, this whimsical collection, pairing two former British Laureates, is full of delightful moments. Explore the pleasures of acting silly and the pains of feeling ill, the camaraderie of siblings and strange goings-on at the beach. . . . All this and a trip on a flying bed, too!

My Name Is Jorge: On Both Sides of the River

A collection of 27 insightful poems that illuminates the migrant experience from the point of view of a grade school child from Mexico. Jorge doesn’t want to be called George. He thinks the name sounds strange. “What an ugly sound!/Like a sneeze!” His struggles to fit in result in a friendship with a boy named Tim; a tentative coming to terms with American society; and some degree of sadness when, upon his grandmother’s death, his family must cross the river again.

This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Christmas with the Rural Mail

A gentle poem describing the journey of a mail sleigh through rural Nova Scotia at Christmastime, delivering packages and parcels to children. The poem is carefully crafted to fit Maud Lewis’s colorful paintings, and the mail sleigh passes children skiing and tobogganing, oxen and Clydesdale horses pulling heavy loads, and the train station, among other classic rural winter scenes.

Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes

A collection of nursery rhymes in English and Chinese, some originating from each tradition, interspersed with facts about Chinese culture and traditions.

Inside Out And Back Again

No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama. For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family. This is the moving story of one girl’s year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3

This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

The Wonder Thing

In a lyrical poem (which is also a riddle) and stunning linoleum block prints, Libby Hathorn and Peter Gouldthrope guide readers on a journey around the world–and to a deeper appreciation of “the wonder thing” that is all around us.