Bookspeak!: Poems about Books by Laura Purdie Salas

Cybils Poetry Winner 2012

20 poems celebrate books by giving voice to their elements--characters, book plates...

What I thought: I really enjoyed this collection. I have several favorite poems.

• 'Calling All Readers'- "There's no friend like a book." This line reminded me of Emily Dickinson's poem 'There is no frigate like a book.'
• 'Index'
• 'Cliffhanger'- I agree..."please author, write a sequel fast!"
• 'Book Plate'- "I'm a paper love tattoo"
• 'This is the Book'- "He is the illustrator / Who creates the art / that makes the words / bloom in your heart" "And she is the reader/ who browses the shelf / and looks for new worlds / but finds herself"
• 'The End'- "I'm not so much / The End / as I am an / invitation back / to the beginning"

Lovely illustrations. This was the first collection I'd ever read by Laura Purdie Salas. I can see why it won the 2012 Cybil for poetry.

(Illus. Josee Bisaillon. Clarion, 2011)