Review by Booklist Review
A love of words, walks, and a watery natural landscape highlight an intergenerational friendship in this posthumously published picture book from Newbery winner MacLachlan. One half of the duo is Lucy, a young girl with a white-blonde bob. The other half, referred to as "my poet," is the beloved wordsmith Mary Oliver, whose white hair is also bobbed. Both appreciate exploring Cape Cod; enjoying the sea, woods, and market; and finding the just-right words to describe what they see--a strawberry, for instance, is a jewel. "The words are here," my poet tells Lucy. "You just have to find them." Hill's blowsy, light-washed pictures capture the area's magic, full of weathered fences, pink rugosa roses, shell-strewn beaches, and gray-shingled cottages. The poet's dogs--one white, one black--cavort through the spreads, leading readers onward as Lucy discovers her own words and, inspired by the poet, ends the story with a poem. A sweet paean to inspiration and contemplation, with an afterword by MacLachlan explaining how she knew the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Oliver.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
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
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Poets find words everywhere. Lucy, a young child, and an older neighbor whom Lucy calls "my poet" look for words as they walk together on the first day of summer vacation. Lucy notes that the poet--inspired by poet Mary Oliver--uses rich language to describe objects, and Lucy wonders where the poet's words and ideas come from. Lucy ponders and closely observes the poet. Narrated by Lucy in first person, this quiet, gentle tale suggests that evocative language emerges when one opens oneself to commonplace visual, auditory, and tactile experiences all around. Doing so invites rich streams of wonderful words--hence, poetry. Lucy demonstrates an understanding of this principle while waxing poetic at the sight of a web-spinning spider. The poet acknowledges that she appreciates Lucy's effort. "You're finding your words," she tells the child. As "proof," the book concludes with a lovely poem from Lucy. The late MacLachlan's sweet, quiet story will work best for contemplative readers. Children enjoy toying with language, and this book validates their playful enjoyment of and experiments with wordplay. A fun follow-up to a classroom or library read-aloud could include having children describe familiar objects in imaginative, poetic ways. The simple, endearing gouache illustrations ably suit the narrative. The protagonists are light-skinned; other characters are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Will empower kids to realize they, too, can be poets. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
