My Poet

K-Gr 2--Lucy, who is white, lives next door to a poet; as the two wander the farmers' market, beach, and boat house on the first day of summer vacation, they observe the natural world and transform it into words. With notebook and pen, Lucy is still trying to get the hang of it, while (readers learn from the author's note) her slender companion, a white woman with short gray hair, is based on Mary Oliver. Lucy observes the poet as much as the strawberries, stones, and spiderwebs they see: "Does she untangle the sound of/ aspen leaves/ blowing in the wind/ into words?" Hill's illustrations are bright and breezy, loose, and beachy; the poet's dogs--one black, one white--are on nearly every page. At home in the evening, Lucy writes a short poem of her own, about a stone the poet gave her on the beach. First-person narration from the child's perspective lends an open, curious tone that may inspire readers to be close observers and try their hands at poetry, too. VERDICT Even without the author's note, this is a gentle but formidable addition to picture book collections everywhere; as nuanced as a poem, it spells out as much as it withholds and leaves readers with questions they'll be inspired to try to answer themselves.--Jenny Arch

In this dreamy introduction to the art and craft of writing, late Newbery Medalist MacLachlan follows fair-haired child Lucy and her summertime neighbor, a gray-haired older woman--"my poet"--through a seaside town and environs as Lucy, her own notebook and pen in tow, tries to discover how the poet finds her words. "Does the sand whisper to her?" Lucy wonders as they navigate the beach with the poet's dogs. "Do the roses sing words?" The twosome's gentle relationship--their pale coloring and clothing echo each other--is tenderly rendered in Hill's (Be Strong) muted gouache illustrations, as are the atmospheric landscapes: windswept beaches with fenced-in dunes and wild rugosa rose bushes, woods bordering marshes, and modest cottages. Lucy's quiet joy in learning to find her own words, encouraged by the poet, is uplifting for anyone who has engaged in creative process. This inviting book reads as an ode to Oliver, the Cape, and new undertakings. An author's note explains that the text is inspired by the late poet Mary Oliver, with whom she sometimes crossed paths on Cape Cod. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator's agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright Agency. (Sept.)