16 Words

  Since our house is filled with books of poetry, I appreciate the children's biographies that are about the poets themselves.  16 Words is a lovely imagining of what inspired William Carlos Williams and led him to write poetry that seems short and simple but gave such a sense of the moment and emotion.

My friend, Margaux, and I are currently writing a poem a day to send to each other.  It's a pretty fun practice!  A lot of our poems are inspired by our daily life and the world outside our back door.  (Much like Williams Carlos William's inspiration).

16 Words

William Carlos Williams and "The Red Wheelbarrow"

Lisa Rogers

illustrations by Chuck Groenink 2019

    

Tales from the Arabian Nights

Tales from the Arabian Nights

told by Margaret Soifer and Irwin Shapiro

illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren 1957

Look at these glorious pages by Gustaf Tenggren!   He's another Golden Age Illustrator that I greedily collect.  Since most of our books are found at thrift stores and flea markets and used bookshops, his books are buried treasure indeed!

This is How We Do It

This book is like an illustrated version of "Children Just Like Me".  It follows seven children around the world, depicting their families, their school uniforms, their dinner, their playtime and their beds.  It finishes off with the beautiful sentiment that we are all under the same  night sky.  

This is How We Do It
Matt Lamothe 2017

And if you are curious about what the children really look like, there is a full page of photographs at the end.

Peacock Pie

Earth Folk

The cat she walks on padded claws,

The wolf on the hills lays stealthy paws,

Feathered birds in the rain-sweet sky

At their ease in the air, flit low, flit high.

The oak's blind, tender roots pierce deep,

His green crest towers, dimmed in sleep,

Under the stars whose thrones are set,

Where never prince hath journeyed yet.

 

Peacock Pie

Walter de la Mare

drawings by Edward Ardizzone

 I've always said that every children's library should include a book of Walter de la Mare.   This vintage Faber paperback has the bonus of including illustrations by Edward Ardizzone.   His ink vignettes are surprisingly evocative, while De la Mare's poems are at times silly, sweet, fanciful and wistful.  

H.M.S. Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore
told by Martha Mearns
drawings by Anne and Janet Grahame Johnstone 1966

 I can never get enough of the Johnstone sisters' delectable illustrations!  (This was one of my finds at the used bookshop in Florida.)   It tells the story of the famous Gilbert and Sullivan musical, but I'm just happy to add another Johnstone to our collection!

Sesame Street Song Book

Every time I travel I look up local bookshops and flea markets.  In Florida we discovered Bookwise used books in Boca Raton.  It's a good sized used bookstore that has a great selection, especially of vintage books.  My last trip down there I bought so many books I ended up having to ship them home!  

This fun Sesame Street song book was part of my haul.   I picked it up for Charlotte to play on the piano.  The Mister Rogers book was such a big hit with her, I figured she'd like this one too!

The Sesame Street Song Book

Words and music by Joe Raposo and Jeffrey Moss

illustrated by Loretta Trezzo 1971