Poem in My Pocket

May 1, 2021
An unnamed protagonist arrives home with a poem in their pocket. Unfortunately, the protagonist doesn't realize that that pocket has a hole in it. Words, verses, and stanzas tumble out of the poet's pocket, and a sudden wind scatters them down the stairs and into the neighborhood. Before long, the mischievous letters of the poem wreak good-natured havoc, fabricating new nonsensical words, creating new rhymes, and filling the world with puns. The poet runs after the letters, trying to catch them. Eventually, the poet gathers the letters together and tries to re-create the original poem only to find that it is a puzzle they are unable to solve. When the wind dies down, the rain starts, and the words are scattered again. Will the poet be able to re-create their poem? Or would words and letters rather be free to play? This rhyming picture book is a celebration of the flexibility of language. The illustrations incorporate age-appropriate puns, nonsense words, and other forms of wordplay that are sure to delight young readers and the adults who read to them. Although the text does not explicitly embrace diverse themes, in the illustrations, the protagonist is an ambiguously gendered kid of color. The brightly colored landscape looks urban, but it could be set almost anywhere in the world. This book about wordplay strikes the write balance between silly and sincere. (Picture book. 4-8)

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March 1, 2021
Grades K-2 The process of writing a poem can be confusing and chaotic, and things get really messy in this humorous, yet serious, take on the art of poetry. After being struck with inspiration, a child scribbles down a poem, only to have it fall out of a pocket. Out tumble words, rhymes, and rhythms, all scrambled up, and--as it turns out--exposing your poem to the elements is problematic. The wind whips the words and rhythms around, resulting in everything from nonsense to puns. The child tries to reconstruct the poem, but it's all in vain; the wind stirs everything up again. Finally, thunder and rain come, and the words go into the ground, planted like seeds, before growing back into something truly beautiful: a "poetree." Vibrant illustrations take readers on a journey that parallels the young poet's spiritual one, from bright and busy urban settings to a magically lush and beautiful garden. This is a whimsical, rhyming story that gives expression to the long frustration and toil that's often part of the artistic process.

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Starred review from July 1, 2021

Gr 1-4-"I had a poem in my pocket, / but my pocket got a rip. / Rhymes tumbled down my leg / and trickled from my hip." As the poem visually flows out of the narrator's pocket, the watercolor illustrations draw readers in. Every page gives way to flying words, wild combinations of lettering, enthralling cityscapes, and the black-haired, brown-skinned narrator on a quest to find a poem. At the end of the story is a challenge to locate rhyming words on each page, finding mixed-up words, and other fun activities. The author also includes where to find more information about "Poem in Your Pocket Day." Children who have never been able access poetry before may be inspired to craft a line or two of their own. VERDICT Whether for classes that celebrate "Poem in Your Pocket Day" or students who love rhyming wordplay, this book is a gift.-Elizabeth Willoughby, John P. Faber Sch., Dunellen, NJ

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
Words from a young person's poem are "mixed-up" in the wind and "whipped about / and mingled in midair." Digital illustrations with collage-like touches play a key role in this adventure: the art shows the poet's words and letters blown around in what looks like a Central American town, rearranging to create nonsense words and silly wordplay. The main character tries to reconstruct the original poem, but wind and rain carry off the pieces again. "The seeds of thoughts were planted," however, and what sprouts is aptly punny. Rhyming pairs on three spreads and mixed-up words on one spread are identified at book's end.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)