DEAR ACORN, (LOVE, OAK): Letter Poems to Friends (With NPR interview link)

My usual strategy in choosing books to celebrate here is to focus on books that are just a shadow away from major accolades, because this titles will get plenty of attention from voices more widely heard than mine. Even so, some stand out so fully and specially that I can't help but add my two cents. This is a link to an interview on NPR with Joyce Sidman and Melissa Sweet. It aired Saturday 10/4, so I beat this post to air a day before. even so, it is a must-listen for anyone who cares about kids, or kids' books, or life!

Check the interview here- it's not long, but it is invaluable. Thanks, and enjoy.

CLARION BOOKS, 2025

DEAR ACORN, (LOVE, OAK): Letter Poems to Friends is a collection of themed poems written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. 

This is a one-of-a-kind pairing of two master creators combining their talents to produce a collection of poems on a timeless and child-focused theme. Joyce Sidman is among the most skilled and creative poets for young readers (and the rest of us) while Melissa Sweet produces collaged and mixed/media art and illustrations that delight the eye and invite closer consideration. That reader-response invitation provides a perfect scaffold for poems that delight the ear and encourage multiple readings and reflections. 

Sixteen poems are presented in eight pairs, each a direct address letter from a member of a large-to-small (or reverse) relationship within nature. Children, by definition, live lives in big-small relationships and this fresh and personified take on those emotional connections will be welcome.

The table of contents suggests what I'm trying to describe:

Oak/Acorn, Bubble/Sky, Cloud/Droplets, Pebble/River, 

Brick/School, Button/Coat, Toes/Child, and Sea Turtles/Ocean.

 Each poem assumes the voice of the entity, but also assumes a reading by the intended addressee, suggesting it expects to be heard and understood. And each opening poem does, indeed, get a reply. That, too, is a rich and resonate experience for children and for the child in each of us. Being heard and responded to feels like a basic human drive.

For example, when "bubble" starts life with the breath of a boy, it fully experiences its ephemeral but fun existence-- bobbing, shifting, shimmering. Even in that joyful instantaneous moment, Bubble speaks to Sky, revealing its wish to be part of something more. And then POP! The moist casing bursts and a boy's breath becomes part of the atmosphere. The art on Bubble's page has literal elements and a swirl of rainbow-sparkled other bubbles, forecasting their futures as elements of rainbow-filled skies. When SKY replies, it addresses "Dear BUBBLE-THAT-WAS". It shares a poignant insight and a personal thank you for a rare "soapy kiss", signing itself SKY-THAT-ALWAYS -IS.

Just as each phrase, line, and emotion of those two poems merits lingering attention, so too do the sky-square images assembled on that spread. Each suggests a different aspect of the sky, from science to play to weather to wondering. 

If ever a book could be effectively used as inspiration and mentor text for any and all ages, it is this one. The poems can spark exploration of the paired elements and their scientific/natural relationships. The poems encourage appreciation and acceptance of the truth that poetry, perhaps the best of poems, do not require or rely on rhyming, but rather on imagery and language and emotions. The art invites attempts at similar collage and assemblage creations, as well as analysis of elements and patterns of color, shape and sizes. 

Sidman provides a brief author note on the back page to invite readers to attempt letter poems, which are one of the best ways to capture that elusive but highly-valued writing craft, VOICE. As those who attempt letter poems will realize, and Sidman suggests and models in this collection, VOICE is a direct result of becoming part of the expressive object (or person). To imagine and occupy the thinking and feeling of the intended speaker is a rich exercise in empathy. Letter poems invite writers to go a step further and fully imagine themselves in the lives of the recipients. 

I am not alone in singing the praises of this lovely offering. HORN BOOK gives it a starred review HERE, and KIRKUS reviews it HERE as an "imaginative masterpiece."

All of that purposeful use of the book makes it  a must-have for homes, libraries, classrooms, and writing classes. Even so, I feel compelled to repeat myself from some prior posts many years ago. No one, not author, illustrator, editor, nor publisher, puts their time and heart and effort into making a superb picture book like this for the PRIMARY purpose of it being used in these intentional ways. The best creators may, consciously or not, generate work with depth and layers that can be unpacked again and again among many audiences for many purposes. But the MAIN purpose, the driving intent of the best picture books, is to be shared and enjoyed. Do that with this book, please. Read it, enjoy it, share it, and explore it. After delighting in and appreciating that original rich experience, I suspect the further uses and readings and inspirations will flow naturally as it lives on in your lives and on your shelves.