The three authors take turns emulating their idols, who include Emily Dickinson, Billy Collins and Terrance Hayes…Complementing the infectious mood of tribute is the spirited mixed-media artwork by Holmes (Voice of Freedom), a harmonious riot of color, texture and pattern.
—The New York Times Book Review
Newbery medalist Kwame Alexander has come up with a fresh and joyful way to interest children in poetry…Holmes takes collage work to a new level, with gloriously colored art that, the closer you look, tells further stories within stories. Each illustration captures not just the feeling of the poem, but wakes up readers to life’s excitements and small joys. Exemplary words and pictures make this a multicultural masterwork.
—Booklist (starred review)
Caldecott Honor–winner Holmes’s (Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer) textured-paper collages use bold, angular forms and sunlit colors to spotlight poets and their subject matter…The exercise of celebrating poets in their own voices leads naturally to the idea of the classroom writing prompt—which Colderley, writing haiku in the style of Basho, seems to anticipate: “Pens scratching paper/ Syllables counted with care/ Poets blossoming.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Powerhouse poet Alexander, along with friends Colderley and Wentworth, offers a culturally rich collection of poetic tributes that extends the legacies of poets from around the globe…This book is sure to be an educator’s lucky charm for a survey-of-poetry unit and is also a perfect entryway for families to wonder and explore together. Brief notes introduce the three sections, and thumbnail biographies of the poets celebrated are appended. A magnificent exploration of the poetic imagination.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)