It’s a rainbow-filled Poetry Friday!
Please visit our marvelous host Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche for a hermit crab poem hiding in a weather report and this week’s colorful roundup.
Recently, I was fortunate to get a peek at a vibrant new anthology A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World by Matt Forrest Esenwine.
Thank you to Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for sharing a preview!
A Universe of Rainbows is a delicious triple-decker sandwich of vibrant artwork, lyrical language, and scientific sidebars. Right away, I was amazed by the number of places that rainbows appear in nature – from underground caverns to outer space. You can find rainbows in water, geological formations, flowers, and feathers. A Universe of Rainbows dives into the science behind each of these phenomena with helpful expository sidebars and back matter.
All these gorgeous rainbows are wrapped in luscious language from some of today’s most notable poets. The incomparable Nikki Grimes gives us a frown-turned-upside-down introductory poem “The Saturday of No.”
Matt Forrest Esenwine follows with his frolicking poem “Sun Dogs.” Sunshine, rainbows, and dogs all in one poem – who could ask for more?
“Rainbow Waters” by David L. Harrison is another of my favorites. This poem, and others in this anthology, encourage deeper thought about the impact humans have on the natural world, for better and worse. It is a great opener for a discussion about how we engage with the world around us.
If you enjoy studying poetry, you will also have fun reading the array of poetic forms sprinkled throughout this book. Special tip: you won’t want to miss Marilyn Singer’s “Rainbows in a Cage.”
And then there is the art! A Universe of Rainbows is an iridescent masterpiece featuring the vivid artwork of Jamey Christoph. The illustrations bloom with all the colors of the rainbow (as you might have anticipated)! Each page of stunning artwork radiates a magical beauty that brings its accompanying poem to life.
You can look for A Universe of Rainbows on April 1st (or preorder today). Be sure to check out Amy Ludwig Vanderwater’s poem “Cano Cristales Speaks” which reminds us “we are each much more than we seem.” Maybe you’ll find there’s a rainbow inside of you!