Coming October 1, 2024

ISBN: 978-1728492100

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Poems selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

With illustrations by Mercè López

Carolrhoda Books

Poets weigh in on childhood boo-boos and faux pas that still haunt them.

“My mother used to tell me, / ‘Think before you do.’ / I wish I would have stopped and thought / before I used the glue.” If readers are more disquieted than soothed by the notion that they, too, may wind up agonizing over flubs years, even decades, later, most of the poets at least try to point to positive life lessons learned. Not that they’re always convincing: Allan Wolf, for instance, claims that he learned to forgive himself for a soccer own goal he nonetheless still remembers scoring in fourth grade, and Tabatha Yeatts’ memories of performing well on a summer camp stage despite blowing off the rehearsals comes off as more of a humblebrag. Still, Linda Sue Park’s embarrassment at mispronouncing a word in class, and Jaime Adoff’s for insisting on pitching when he could barely get a baseball to the plate, had salutary results on their respective self-images, while Margarita Engle learned the value of thinking for herself after cutting off her braids at a schoolmate’s suggestion, as did Kim Rogers (Wichita) after playing the role of a white settler in an Oklahoma Land Run Day celebration. López reflects the multiracial cast of the contributors in her bright and energetic views of young people amid diverse family or other groups.

Comforting reminders that nobody’s perfect, infused with lessons large and small. (about the poets) (Picture book poetry. 6-9)

★Latham and Waters (Dictionary for a Better World) collaborate anew with this selection of 20 edifying poems that invite readers, per an introduction, to “experience through poetry the real-life mistakes from some people who are brave and open and growing—just like you.” Poems from Jorge Argueta, Linda Sue Park, Naomi Shihab Nye, Jane Yolen, and the editors, among others, are categorized into four sections (“Oopsie-Daisy!,” “Stuff Happens,” “Blessings in Disguise,” and “What Have I Done”), each work accompanied by a prose paragraph detailing the lesson learned. Some are laugh-aloud, as when Darren Sardelli’s speaker describes gluing their uncle to a toilet seat. Kim Rogers’s uniquely powerful work, meanwhile, involves a speaker’s schoolyard experience with Oklahoma’s Land Run Day: “Here I was a Native girl/ celebrating the day her Wichita ancestors’ land/ was stolen.” Dynamic mixed-media artwork from López (Sylvie and the Wolf) offers energetic visual support for each poem in an anthology packed with a broad spectrum of human emotion and experience. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 7–11. Authors’ agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. Illustrator’s agent: Mela Bolinao, MB Artists. (Oct.)

An anthology packed with a broad spectrum of human emotion and experience.

Booklist

★This charming and insightful collection of poetry from 20 authors explores the topic of mistakes with humor and sensitivity. The book divides the focus into four categories: embarrassing mistakes, mistakes by which we hurt ourselves, mistakes that turn out to be "blessings in disguise," and mistakes that hurt others. Each poem explores a different aspect of making a mistake and is followed by an explanation of how the mistake is an essential part of learning and growing. Linda Sue Park writes about how her pride in her reading prowess got the better of her when her second-grade teacher asked her to read out loud and she stumbled on a word in front of the class. Vikram Madan shares how his reluctance to get glasses caused him to suffer until he finally admitted he needed help. Douglas Florian celebrates the "mistake" he made in art and how it helped him learn new approaches to making his work better. The verses come in a variety of forms, keeping the reading experience dynamic and enjoyable. The strength of this collection comes from the authors admitting their mistakes and going on to explain the value of the resulting learning opportunities. A gentle reminder of the stepping stones making up the path to growth, discovery, and creativity.

Charming and insightful... A gentle reminder of the stepping stones making up the path to growth, discovery, and creativity.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-8—An engaging, emotionally honest collection of poetry that offers children a comforting glimpse of adults and their imperfections. Latham and Waters center their work on a timeless piece of advice: It’s OK to make mistakes. This gentle stance serves as the jumping-off point for the themes of the book’s four sections on embarrassing blunders, deliberate actions gone awry, missteps that lead to good fortune, and accidents that hurt others. The 20 writers depict real moments from their childhood, with annotations providing context and further reflection. Poems often employ clever visual devices to enhance their impact. For instance, George Ella Lyon’s “Dare” sets the word “JUMPED!” vertically on the page, with each letter (and the exclamation point) spilling downward onto a new line. López’s expressive art, a combination of acrylic, graphite, ink, and digital technique, gets in on the act as the letters of Linda Sue Park’s “Matter I Alls” become a breakaway floor to illustrate the paraphrased biblical proverb “Pride goeth before a fall.” Other illustrations foreground the kinetic energy of the poets’ young selves, with bright red lines representing scissor cut marks, shouts of anger, and baseball physics calculations. Certain entries feature questionable examples of mistakes, such as Tabatha Yeatts’s account of slacking off during rehearsal for a play in summer camp—only to nail her delivery on opening night—and Jorge Argueta’s glorious, consequence-free skipping of school with a friend. Then again, perhaps this is the book’s point: mistakes can be beautiful and, like beauty, lie in the eye of the beholder.

This accessible, well-tuned collection of poetry will reassure and delight young readers in equal measure.