PB Review: Hello Earth!: Poems to Our Planet
Hello Earth!: Poems to Our Planet by Joyce Sidman, illus. by Miren Asiain Lora (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 68p., ages 5-9, 9780802855282)
Newbery Honoree Joyce Sidman (Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night; Round) teams up with Miren Asiain Lora (illustrator, The Mermaid Atlas) for this heartfelt poetry collection featuring the voices of Earth's children--"the human ones"--as they speak directly to the planet.
Melding scientific research with poetry, Sidman's words encourage readers to think philosophically. In "Floating," she questions how humans can be "climbing trees, walking paths,/ staring up at constellations" while also out "in deepest space." Of the relationship with moon and sun, Sidman asks Earth what it's like to feel "one so close,/ a silver sister. One so far,/ a burning star." Sidman takes readers beneath the ocean, home to "creatures whose bodies/ breathe water/ instead of air," and into "Noisy" cities, where "digging/ and building /and shouting/ and grabbing/ and rushing around" keep people from remembering to be happy with what we've been given. Sidman crafts her poems to speak eloquently to "our ship/ through light/ and darkness."
Lora's graceful watercolor and acrylic art employs fine details on expansive backgrounds to evoke wonder in concepts both concrete and abstract. Her tiny humans and animals actively interact with their surroundings, adding depth and giving readers plenty of details to pore over. Topics--including the physical attributes of Earth, forces that act upon it and the human impact on the planet--are further fleshed out in extensive back matter, including a section on "ways kids can help." This is an inspiring collection, and one likely to encourage further study. --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI.
Discover: Heartfelt science-based poems and paintings for young readers celebrate planet Earth.
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