Should You Be a River

Should You Be A River
by Ed Young
Little, Brown and Co. 2015 Picture Book

Ed Young has won numerous awards, including a Caldecott Medal. This new book is a free verse poem affirming unwavering love. "Should you be a calm lake, I'll hold you, reflecting your every mood/ Should you be a seed, I'll dream you a vision of towering trees." The lyrical text is illustrated with collage created from beautiful nature photography. Some of the figures in the illustrations are shaped like Chinese characters, and there more characters (the text in Chinese?) inside the front cover. An end note explains that the poem was written after the death of the author's wife. This is a lovely and culturally rich offering for all ages to share.

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