NEW AND NOTABLE POETRY BOOKS

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Are you ready to get KOOKY?

CLARA'S KOOKY COMPENDIUM OF THIMBLETHOUGHTS AND WONDERFUZZ is a fun-filled journal-style book by Sylvia Vardell + Janet Wong, featuring a mixture of dandy doodles and drawings, fun facts, quirky questions, and 150+ poems that will get your kids giggling and guffawing while they learn about language arts, science, math, research skills, writing techniques, and more. This short blog post gives the perfect summary!

The voices in this book represent popular names in the children's poetry community and also many new talents, including these poets: Alma Flor Ada, Verrena Diane Anderson, Dolores Andral, Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Kevan Atteberry, Lisa Billa, Robyn Hood Black, Merry Bradshaw, Jay Brazeau, Sandy Brehl, Calef Brown, F. Isabel Campoy, Yangsook Choi, Cynthia Cotten, Mary E. Cronin, Hollie Dagata, Leslie Degnan, Kristy Dempsey, Joanne Emery, Margarita Engle, Janet Clare Fagal, Douglas Florian, Patricia J. Franz, Marilyn Garcia, Van G. Garrett, Charles Ghigna, Avis Harley, David L. Harrison, Jane Heitman Healy, Sara Holbrook, Lyn Jekowsky, Alan Katz, Julie Larios, Irene Latham, Megan Litwin, Molly Lorenz, George Ella Lyon, J. David Martinez, Carmela A. Martino, Sara Matson, Rochelle Melander, Christy Mihaly, Amy Milholland, Kate McCarroll Moore, Kenn Nesbitt, Elisabeth Norton, Eric Ode, Abby Oqueli, Eric E. Peterson, Deborah Reidy, Laura Renauld, Joan Riordan, René Saldaña, Jr., Michael Salinger, Darren Sardelli, Donna JT Smith, Eileen Spinelli, Elizabeth Steinglass, Lynn Street, Suma Subramaniam, Linda Picaro Tarantino, Pamela Taylor, Linda Jean Thomas, Joyce Uglow, Fernanda Valentino, Carol Varsalona, Padma Venkatraman, Charles Waters, April Halprin Wayland, Vicki Wilke, Allan Wolf, Janet Wong, Helen Kemp Zax, and Darcy Day Zoells.

Find this quirky, unique title and additional award-winning books by Vardell + Wong at Amazon and at our favorite distributor  QEPBooks.com (shop online or call (800) 323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria). 

A portion of the profits from this book will be donated to charities that bring joy to children in hospitals.

ISBN 9781937057848  

Retail price: $24.99

Trim size: 8.5" x 11"
Pages: 137

Grade Level: Grades 3 and up

How can we help children feel more confident? With poetry! Give children a daily dose of hope simply by sharing the 40 ekphrastic poems in this book. Inspired by a wide variety of diverse and inclusive black-and-white photos, these poems explore the many places where hope pops up in our lives: when we play a sport, water a garden, do volunteer work, visit a hospital, or even when we take a test.

This book is a Children's Book Council "Hot Off the Press" Selection for August 2023. This monthly list curated by the CBC features new titles that are identified as great resources for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents.

The voices in this book represent popular names in the children's poetry community and new talents, too: Verrena Diane Anderson, Dolores Andral, Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Rebecca Balcárcel, Robyn Hood Black, Sandy Brehl, Joseph Bruchac, Rose Cappelli, Kelly Conroy, Patricia Cooley, Cynthia Cotten, Mary E. Cronin, Linda A. Dryfhout, Alyssa Eisner, Joanne Emery, Lauren Emick, Janet Clare Fagal, Patricia J. Franz, Theresa Gaughan, Stephanie Gimble, Sherilyn Howard, Elizabeth Kuelbs, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Vikram Madan, J. David Martinez, Rochelle Melander, Kenn Nesbitt, Abby Oqueli, Lou Piccolo, Deborah Reidy, Suma Subramaniam, Linda Picaro Tarantino, Pamela Taylor, Linda Kulp Trout, Joyce Uglow, Sylvia Vardell, Vicki Wilke, Matthew Winter, Janet Wong, and Sarah Ziman.

As with other books in the "WHAT IS" series (WHAT IS A FRIEND?, WHAT IS A FAMILY?), as well as our books in the "THINGS WE" series (THINGS WE DO; THINGS WE EAT; THINGS WE FEEL; THINGS WE WEAR), 100% of the profits will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund.

ISBN 9781937057220  

Retail price: $16.99

Trim size: 6" x 9"
Pages: 108

Grade Level: Grades 3 and up

You can buy our books at Amazon and receive them in a few days—or, If you don't need them immediately and would prefer to order from a small business that specializes in school orders, QEP Books is the place! You will receive first-rate customer service; call 800-323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria. Visit QEPBooks.com and, while you're there, look for our other Pomelo Books titles with a "Vardell Wong" search! 

DNA can tell us who our family members are, but we all know that family means more than just genetics. The 40 ekphrastic poems in this book—inspired by a wide variety of diverse and inclusive black-and-white photos—explore extended families, blended families, classmates and sports teams as families, animal families, and family occasions such as birthdays, holidays, weddings, funerals, and much more.

The voices in this book represent popular names in the children's poetry community and new talents, too: Alma Flor Ada, Gail Aldous, Alexia M. Andoni, Chris Baron, Willeena Booker, Sandy Brehl, Judy Bryan, Elenore Byrne, F. Isabel Campoy, Kate Coombs, Cynthia Cotten, Mary E. Cronin, Leslie Degnan, Janet Clare Fagal, Theresa Gaughan, Rajani LaRocca, Renée M. LaTulippe, Rebecca Gardyn Levington, Molly Lorenz, Rochelle Melander, Jack Prelutsky, Joan Riordan, Donna JT Smith, Anastasia Suen,  Pamela Taylor, Joyce Uglow, Fernanda Valentino, April Halprin Wayland, Vicki Wilke, Matthew Winter, Janet Wong, and Helen Kemp Zax.

As with the companion book WHAT IS A FRIEND? and also our books in the "THINGS WE" series (THINGS WE DO; THINGS WE EAT; THINGS WE FEEL; THINGS WE WEAR), 100% of the profits will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund (IBBY.org). 

ISBN 9781937057190  

Retail price: $16.99

Trim size: 6" x 9"
Pages: 108

Grade Level: Grades 3 and up

You can buy our books at Amazon and receive them in a few days—or, If you don't need them immediately and would prefer to order from a small business that specializes in school orders, QEP Books is the place! You will receive first-rate customer service; call 800-323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria. Visit QEPBooks.com and, while you're there, look for our other Pomelo Books titles with a "Vardell Wong" search!

We began our alphabet series with the action-packed THINGS WE DO, featuring kid-friendly verbs like CLAP (Joseph Bruchac), DANCE (Nikki Grimes), EAT (Jack Prelutsky), and FLY (Carole Boston Weatherford).  The response to "Eat" byJack Prelutsky was so enthusiastic that we decided to devote a whole book to food with THINGS WE EAT, where we included many global staples such as RICE (Jacqueline Woodson). We then explored our emotions in THINGS WE FEEL, honoring our wide range of emotions, even our WORRIED (Naomi Shihab Nye) times. We're now ready to help kids celebrate another favorite topic: CLOTHES, with gems by Douglas Florian,  Padma Venkatraman, and 24 additional voices.

In this book, we wear not just clothes — but aprons, boots, costumes, dresses, earmuffs, flip-flops, glasses, helmets, ice skates, jeans, kippahs, life jackets, masks, necklaces, overalls, pajamas, quilts, raincoats, saris, t-shirts, uniforms, visors, watches, x-ray aprons, yukata, and zippers! Readers (and preschool "book-lookers") will see themselves very clearly in the wide variety of children and activities depicted in these diverse and inclusive photos.

The poets featured in this book are: Robyn Hood Black, Willeena Booker, Sandy Brehl, Judy Bryan, Rose Cappelli, Janet Clare Fagal, Karen Elise Finch, Patricia J. Franz, Theresa Gaughan, Xelena González, Katey Howes, Molly Lorenz, Amy Milholland, Moe Phillips, Donna JT Smith, Holly Thompson, Linda Kulp Trout, Fernanda Valentino, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Padma Venkatraman, Jenna Waldman, Vicki Wilke, Matthew Winter, Janet Wong, and Helen Kemp Zax.

As with other books in this series (THINGS WE DO; THINGS WE EAT; THINGS WE FEEL), 100% of the profits will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund. 

ISBN 9781937057046  

Retail price: $16.99

Trim size: 8.5" x 8.5"
Pages: 79

Grade Level: PreK - Grade 2

If you would prefer to order from a small business that specializes in school orders, QEP Books is the place! You will receive first-rate customer service; call 800-323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria. While you're there, look for our other Pomelo Books titles with a "Vardell Wong" search!

To learn to be a good friend, kids need models of friendship. The 41 poems in this book guide us in reaching out, sharing ourselves, asking for help, giving support, and just having fun. These poems also show us that friends come in many forms; we can find them in our families, at school, on sports teams, through community service, on vacation, in pets, in nature — and even in ourselves.

Many talented voices are represented in this book: Gail Aldous, Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Robyn Hood Black, Willeena Booker, Sandy Brehl, Carol Bullman, Kelly Conroy, Mary E. Cronin, Linda A. Dryfhout, Janet Clare Fagal, Karen Elise Finch, Nancy Bo Flood, Patricia J. Franz, Marilyn Garcia, Van G. Garrett, Theresa Gaughan, Sara Holbrook, Irene Latham, Rebecca Gardyn Levington, Molly Lorenz, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Carmela A. Martino, Guadalupe García McCall, Rochelle Melander, Heidi Mordhorst, Elisabeth Norton, Joan Riordan, Laura Purdie Salas, René Saldaña, Jr., Michael Salinger, Donna JT Smith, Anastasia Suen,  Pamela Taylor, Linda Kulp Trout, Fernanda Valentino, Charles Waters, Vicki Wilke, Matthew Winter, Janet Wong, Helen Kemp Zax, and Sarah Ziman.

As with our books in the "THINGS WE" series (THINGS WE DO; THINGS WE EAT; THINGS WE FEEL), 100% of the profits will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund (IBBY.org). 

ISBN 9781937057169 

Retail price: $16.99

Trim size: 6" x 9"
Pages: 108

Grade Level: Grade 3 and Up

Buy from your local indie bookseller at Bookshop.org!

If you would like to order from a small business that specializes in school orders, QEP Books is the place! You will receive first-rate customer service; call 800-323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria. At the same time, learn the books in our "THINGS WE" series (Things We Do; Things We Eat; Things We Feel; and Things We Wear) that also are fundraisers for the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund.

Can we ask you a favor? If you know Preschool and Kindergarten teachers in Pennsylvania, will you tell them that this book is on the 2023-24 Keystone to Reading Book Award list for Preschool and Kindergarten — and we need them to register to vote? Teachers can apply to be a Voting Classroom here. Thank you (and fingers crossed)!

Kids have been feeling a mix of complex emotions lately, which makes THINGS WE FEEL perfect for sharing. In this alphabet book you'll find poems from A to Z along with full-color photos that will help kids talk about feeling amazed, brave, curious, determined, excited, frustrated, grateful, happy, inspired, jealous, kooky, lonely, mad, nervous, and more. The poems are ideal for children in preschool through Grade 2 (ages 3-7) and can also be used as mentor texts for older students. Share the poems to jumpstart family talks at home or in classrooms. Parents, caregivers, and educators will find useful tips and resources to help make learning even more fun, and this book will also be a favorite resource in an ELL classroom. Pomelo Books is "Poetry PLUS"!  

This anthology includes a diverse and inclusive blend of established and new voices: Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Willeena Booker, Rose Cappelli, Kelly Conroy, Karen Elise Finch, Douglas Florian, Patricia J. Franz, Katey Howes, Carol-Ann Hoyte, Michelle Kogan, Elizabeth Kuelbs, Marty Lapointe-Malchik, Carmela A. Martino, Juli Mayer, Rochelle Melander, Lisa Varchol Perron,  Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Schriebman, Anastasia Suen, Pamela Taylor, Linda J. Thomas, Fernanda Valentino, Vicki Wilke, Matthew Winter, and Janet Wong.

As with other books in this series (THINGS WE DO and THINGS WE EAT), 100% of the profits will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund (IBBY.org). 

ISBN 9781937057039  

Retail price: $16.99

Trim size: 8.5" x 8.5"
Pages: 79

Grade Level: PreK - Grade 2

If you would like to order from a small business that specializes in school orders, QEP Books is the place! You will receive first-rate customer service; call 800-323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria. While you're there, look for the other books in this same series, Things We Do and Things We Eat.

⭐️  A Children's Book Council Hot Off the Press Selection

⭐️  Featured on the POETS.org Summer Books List

What things do we love to eat? In this book you'll find poems from A to Z, featuring food names and photos that will make kids want to eat an AVOCADO, BAGEL, COOKIE, DUMPLING, and more as you read the delicious poems. This poetry anthology is ideal for students in preschool through Grade 2 and can also be used as a mentor text for older students. Share it as a  family at home or in classrooms to promote diverse nutritional choices and smart eating. (Well, mostly smart: we wanted to include some familiar treats such as cookies and (cupcakes with) icing, too.) Parents, caregivers, and educators will find useful tips and resources in the back matter to help make learning even more fun, and this book will also be a favorite resource in an ELL classroom. Pomelo Books is "Poetry PLUS"!

The poets in this book are a diverse and eclectic blend of established and new poets: Gail Aldous, Rebecca Balcárcel, David Bowles, Sandy Brehl, Carol Bullman, Yangsook Choi, Kelly Conroy, Nicola Davies, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Linda A. Dryfhout, Theresa Gaughan, Mary Lee Hahn, Georgia Heard, George Ella Lyon, JoAnn Early Macken, Elisabeth Norton, Lisa Varchol Perron, Jama Kim Rattigan, Joan Riordan, Pamela Ross, Donna JT Smith, April Halprin Wayland, Vicki Wilke, Janet Wong, Jacqueline Woodson, and Sarah Ziman.

100% of the profits from this book will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund (IBBY.org). Please consider making a direct donation via USBBY.

ISBN 9781937057312  

Retail price: $16.99

Trim size: 8.5" x 8.5"
Pages: 79

Grade Level: PreK - Grade 2

If you would prefer to order from a small business that specializes in school orders, QEP Books is the place! You will receive first-rate customer service; call 800-323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria. While you're there, look for the other book in this same series, Things We Do!

⭐️  A Children's Book Council Hot Off the Press Selection!

What things do we love to do? In this book you'll find poems from A to Z, featuring action words and photos that will make kids eager to CLAP, DANCE, JUMP, LAUGH, WAVE, ZOOM, and more as you read the playful poems. This poetry anthology is ideal for students in preschool through Grade 2 and can be shared by families at home or by teachers in classrooms. Parents, caregivers, and educators will find useful tips and resources to help make learning even more fun. This book will also be a favorite resource in an ELL classroom. Pomelo Books is "Poetry PLUS"!

The poets in this book are a diverse and eclectic blend of established and new poets: Beth Brody, Joseph Bruchac, Jen Bryant, Mary E. Cronin, Linda A. Dryfhout, Margarita Engle, Janet Clare Fagal, Marilyn Garcia, Nikki Grimes, Carol Labuzzetta, Marty Lapointe-Malchik, Grace Lin, Molly Lorenz, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Pat Mora, Linda Sue Park, Moe Phillips, Jack Prelutsky, Janice Scully, Linda Kulp Trout, Padma Venkatraman, Leslie Stall Widener, Carole Boston Weatherford, Janet Wong, Jane Yolen, and Helen Kemp Zax. In addition to writing, their varied backgrounds include careers as teachers, librarians, lawyers, health care workers, scientists, film producers, artists, and more.

100% of the profits from this book will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund (IBBY.org). Please consider making a direct donation via USBBY.

ISBN 9781937057305  

Retail price: $16.99

Trim size: 8.5" x 8.5"
Pages: 79

Grade Level: PreK - Grade 1

If you would prefer to order from a small company, QEP Books is the place! You will receive first-rate customer service; call 800-323-6787 and ask for Catherine or Maria. While you're there, look for other titles by Pomelo Books such as PET CRAZY: A Poetry Friday Power Book!

Bookshop.org is the preferred online bookstore of many people who want to support a local indie store— and we're happy to be able to offer our books there, too!