Michael J. Rosen. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $15.95 (112p) ISBN 978-1-59078-863-9
This understated novel from Rosen (The Hound Dog’s Haiku) is composed of alternating poems written from the perspectives of two boys whose lives briefly intersect. The year is 1969, and 13-year-old Perry travels via train between his grandparents’...
READ FULL REVIEW
Michael J. Rosen, illus. by Hugh McMahon. Dial, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3452-4
The Pumpkinheads have had it with sitting pretty on Halloween: “For once, why can’t we dress up and go out?” Crisp photographs display McMahon’s stunning pumpkin carvings, which include a mastodon whose furry face and tusks stand atop stacked...
READ FULL REVIEW
Michael J. Rosen, illus. by Robert Sabuda. Candlewick, $34.99 (16p) ISBN 978-0-7636-5533-4
This is no ordinary pop-up book; open a page and the setting springs into three dimensions, a ship, a temple, street scenes from around the world of the Jewish diaspora. Each of Hanukkah’s eight days has its own spread. Sabuda’s intricate and...
READ FULL REVIEW
Etienne Delessert. Creative Editions, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-56846-277-6
This haunting collection of paintings represents Delessert (A Glass) at his most introspective, as he records the capricious activity of his own unconscious. “On a calm September evening, I was walking my dog along Route 44 when headlights flashed...
READ FULL REVIEW
Michael J. Rosen, illus. by Mary Azarian. Candlewick, $17.99 (56p) ISBN 978-0-7636-4499-4
In this companion to The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Birding Poems, Rosen explores the characteristics of 20 dog breeds through rich, contemplative imagery. Describing a border collie, he writes, "above your fixed gaze/ a Milky Way of cows move—/ your...
READ FULL REVIEW
Michael J. Rosen, illus. by Stan Fellows. Candlewick, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-7636-8916-2
In their fourth book of animal haiku, which began with 2009’s The Cuckoo’s Haiku, Rosen and Fellows pair crisp, contemplative haiku with sumptuous watercolors that reflect the strength and beauty of horses, as well as the bond between the animals...
READ FULL REVIEW
Michael J. Rosen, illus. by Matt Tavares. Candlewick, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5362-0121-5
Rosen (The Horse’s Haiku) expands a segment of Benjamin Franklin’s childhood to reveal his early motivations and character traits. A straightforward narrative with invented, formal dialogue follows novelty-seeking young Franklin as he tries in vain...
READ FULL REVIEW
