Skip to main content

"Thanku: Poems of Gratitude"

Edited by Miranda Paul                Illustrated by Marlena Myles
       
Image Source: thriftbooks.com
        The purpose of this collection of poems in, "Thanku: Poems of Gratitude" is right in the title. The purpose can also be found on the front flap: "This anthology brings together a diverse group of poets who express gratitude for everything from a puppy to hot cocoa to the sky itself." The intended audience is children, however, this would be a great resource for anyone learning about the different poetry forms.
        There are 31 different poems, each written by a different author of something to be grateful for. There are many different forms of poetry. Every poem has a notation of the format at the bottom of each page. The forms range from didactic, epistle, concrete, silo, tanka and more. Again, I believe that this collection of poems would be a great resource for students of poetry due to the wide variety of authors and formats. The wide range of poetry forms shows the variation that can be had in meter and sound patterns.
        The poems do not appear to be in any kind of order. There is no table of contents so the reader would just flip through to find a poem. I believe this would be to encourage the readers to pursue the poems in a random manner. There is an index for the different types of poetic forms and literary types in the back of the book if the reader wanted more information. There is also information on each of the authors, in order that their poem appears, in the back of the book.
        Marlena Myles' illustrations a filled with vivid colors and textures made from what appears to be watercolor and digital art. The illustrations, styles and tone change to fit each poem. For example, the illustration for "First Responder", helps a young reader with the descriptive language that Janice Scully is thankful for tape. While the adjacent page is filled with bright rainbow colors for "Roy G. Biv".


Paul, Miranda. Thanku: Poems of Gratitude. Illustrated by Marlena Myles. Millbrook Press, 2019. 33 pages. TR. $15.99, ISBN 978-1-5415-2363-0.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let's get reading!

Welcome!  I will be using this blog to respond to and evaluate children's books for the LIS 721 Library Materials for Children class for Fall 2025. I really enjoyed and learned so much in the Materials for Young Adults class and hope to do the same in this class. Happy reading!
Post a Comment
Read more

"A Different Pond"

Written by Bao Phi                    Illustrated by Thi Bui Image Source: Amazon           The illustrations in "A Different Pond"  are almost all darker richer tones to depict the darkness of the hour that the Dad and the boy are up at. When there is light it is a deep yellow to show the warmth and comfort of their home, but also representing their lights without lamp shades to help diffuse the light in the house, as a lampshade is an extravagance for them. Thi does a wonderful job of using tones of blue and brown to shade the environment and shadows around the father and son that adds a beautiful depth to the images but also adds to the symbolism of the weight that the father feels everyday when he is fishing so that their family can eat.          The text in this book is appropriate for the children reading it and is a credible conversation. "A Different Pond" is a real...
Post a Comment
Read more

"A Little Like Magic"

Written and Illustrated by Sarah Kurpiel Image Source: readbrightly.com           The illustrations in "A Little Like Magic"  use a whimsical cool color scheme to help show the cold of the winter as they journey out in the cold. There are touches of warm colors when looking through windows into the warm house, as well as her toy horse to represent the warmth and comfort they bring. The full-page spreads that show the mother and child outside during the day use muted cool colors, while the full-page spreads at night use deeper, richer cool colors. Sarah does a wonderful job using lines to help show movement and the cold wind. The lines also help keep the eye moving throughout the spreads.          The text in this book is appropriate for the children reading it as it is simple and most of the language is vocabulary they would have heard before. Each page has one to three sentences. Repetition is used when the main character revi...
Post a Comment
Read more