All the World a Poem

Poetry can be quite intimidating. Not only writing it, but even reading it can be daunting for so many, but perhaps most difficult for children. What is a poem? Does it rhyme or not? Are the verses long or short? There is no simple answer, and this book doesn’t really purport to answer that question. What it does is introduce to children the idea of poetry being everywhere and found in so many gifts of nature—flowers, the sky, birds, the ocean, and more. The entire book is written in a variety of poetic forms, some rhymed, some not, but all quite accessible to children.

Author Gilles Tibo has written a charming picture book that will help youngsters find their way to poetry as both readers and writers of the form. The writing is fun and whimsical and lyrical. The illustrations by Manon Gauthier—a combination of several media including collage, pencil, and gouache—are absolutely charming and match the whimsicality of the text. This book will find its way into a great many classrooms and school libraries, but it deserves to be in lots of children’s homes as well. This is a lovely book.