A Poem Grows Inside You

“Your body’s been thirsty/ but did not know why./ (A life without poetry/ often feels dry.)” Steadily rhyming verse exudes possibility as Howes parallels the writing process with the cultivation of seeds. In saturated colored pencil textures, Lee’s art depicts a child with brown skin and curly purple hair venturing into the rain with a yellow umbrella. As they dance through puddles and peer at fish, their seed of an idea grows roots out of their shoes and leaves out of their body. Though doubt and fear attend the sprouts’ appearance, it’s clear that further growth will only occur if “you branch out and bloom.” As the child shows off their work, the book’s art becomes more vibrant, blooming across remaining pages as friends of varying skin tones frolic beneath a rainbow—and rain returns with the potential to nourish new seeds. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)