By PAUL JANECZKO
Published by Candlewick Press
“A welcome mat of moonlight on the floor. Wipe your feet before getting into bed.”
It only takes a few words, if they’re the right words, to create a strong image. Whether listened to in the comfort of a cozy lap or read independently, the thirty-six very short poems in this collection remind readers young and old that a few perfect words and pictures can make the world glow. Selected by acclaimed poet Paul B. Janeczko and gorgeously illustrated by Melissa Sweet, FIREFLY JULY; A YEAR OF VERY SHORT POEMS invites children to sample poems throughout the four seasons.
FIREFLY JULY can be found in local independent bookstores, through IndieBound, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or in your local library.
FOR EDUCATORS: A great collection for National Poetry Month, here’s a wonderful resource from the Classroom Bookshelf.
Bologna Book Fair White Ravens Selection
Association of Children's Librarians of Northern CA Distinguished Books
CCBC Choices
NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
MAINE Chickadee Award Nominee
Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book
ALSC Notables List: Younger Readers category
Book Links Lasting Connections List
Horn Book Fanfare List
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL best books of 2014
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
2014 NEIBA Book Awards, children’s
“Anthologies of poetry for young people are never in short supply. But “Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems” is a glorious example of the genre. This marriage of verbal and visual imagery has the effect of making some familiar, even hoary poems suddenly seem utterly new. ... The poems are short, accessible and child-friendly, but they are far from unsophisticated….Sweet’s spectacular mixed-media illustrations seem poised to break free from the book’s large pages. They are alternately delicate and bold, mistily atmospheric and scorchingly bright. Her touch combines the rigor of a mature artist and the scratchy abandon of a child. Best of all, they illuminate the poetry with genuine wit, intelligence and emotion. They are poems come to life.”
“Scintillating!”
“Breeze through the seasons with this deftly selected collection of 36 poems, each embedded like a jewel in one of Melissa Sweet’s gloriously textured mixed-media illustrations.”
“Organized by the seasons, beginning with spring, this collection of 36 impeccably chosen short poems demonstrates that significant emotional power can reside in just a few lines. …Any collection will be brighter with the inclusion of this treasure.”
“In their brevity, the poems remind us that less can often be more and that there is art in economy. ... Caldecott Honor artist Sweet’s pictures are, in a word, gorgeous.
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“A spirited anthology. Evocative and accessible. Sweet’s artwork is marvelously varied.”
