The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems
By:
Illustrator: Richard Jones
Be they practical (how to mix a pancake or how to bird-watch) or fanciful (how to scare monsters or how to be a snowflake), the poems in this book boast a flair and joy that you won’t find in any instruction manual. Poets from Kwame Alexander to Pat Mora to Allan Wolf share the way to play hard, to love nature, and to be grateful. Soft, evocative illustrations will encourage readers to look at the world with an eye to its countless possibilities.
Full-color illustrations were rendered in paint and edited digitally.
ISBN: 9780763681685
JLG Release: Jun 2019
Sensitive Areas:
None
Topics:
Poetry
, Poems
, Anthologies
Awards & Honors
Kirkus Best Books - 2019
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Kirkus Reviews*, The Horn Book Magazine, Publishers Weekly*, Booklist*
Horn Book
The thirty-three poems in this “how-to” collection range from the whimsical, such
as Monica Shannon’s “How to Tell Goblins from Elves,” to the very practical,
such as Martin Gardner’s “Barbershop”: “Don’t squirm / Like a worm / While
he’s cutting your hair.” Written by many of today’s preeminent poets for children,
includi The thirty-three poems in this “how-to” collection range from the whimsical, such
as Monica Shannon’s “How to Tell Goblins from Elves,” to the very practical,
such as Martin Gardner’s “Barbershop”: “Don’t squirm / Like a worm / While
he’s cutting your hair.” Written by many of today’s preeminent poets for children,
including Nikki Grimes, Margarita Engle, and Douglas Florian, this collection
also includes a few older pieces by poets such as Christina Rossetti and Robert
Louis Stevenson. Some offer advice that is more funny than useful, as in Karla
Kuskin’s hilarious “Rules”: “Do not wear a broom to breakfast. / Do not ask a
snake’s advice.” Others are useful, such as “How to Ride a New Bike,” by April
Halprin Wayland, which advises, “Feather brakes slow / bike doesn’t throw me.”
Each, though, is genuine poetry and not a didactic lesson, written with rhythm,
expression, and evocative phrases that often beg to be read aloud. Jones’s digitally
edited paintings capture the tone and feeling of each piece while still being unified
overall with color choices, soft edges, and keen observations of nature. Though
some of the selections are silly, the accompanying pictures are lush, gentle, and
tender, filling each large page. A varied and approachable poetry collection that
children can enjoy on their own, and that adults can enjoy sharing with them.
Book Details
ISBN
9780763681685
First Release
June 2019
Genre
Fic
Dewey Classification
E
Trim Size
9 2/3" x 11 1/4"
Page Count
48
Accelerated Reader
Level 0; Points: 0;
Scholastic Reading Counts
Level 0; Points: 0;
Lexile
Level NP
Format
Print Book
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Candlewick
Potentially Sensitive Areas
None
Topics
Poetry, Poems, Anthologies,
