Linda Kulp Trout

Thursday, May 14, 2020

A Loon, An Owl, and Animal Babies

Three beautiful new books arrived on my porch this week.  All of them are about babies! 

SECRETS OF THE LOON is the latest book by the amazing Laura Purdie Salas.  I'm so happy to add this book to my "Laura" collection. Laura's poetry and Chuck Dayton's photographs combine to make every spread breathtaking.  The opening scene blew me away.

Below white pines, at water's edge,
in guarded nest of mud and sedge,
squeezed inside an olive egg,
bill meets wing meets folded leg.

Isn't that lovely?  The book has a magical feel to it.  It's one I know I'll read again and again.



 Smriti Prasadam-Halls is a new-to-me author. I'm not sure how I found WELCOME TO YOUR WORLD, but sometimes the right book comes to us when we need it. I love the soothing way it reads like a lullaby.  Jaime Kim's illustrations portray "tender scenes between animals and their babies..."  The book begins with a human mother holding her newborn.

  Welcome, little baby,
round your mama curled.
  Welcome, little baby.
Welcome to your world!

This book would make a great gift for new parents!

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Maria Gianferrari's new poetry picture book WHOO-KU HAIKU: A Great Horned Owl Story is illustrated by Jonathan Voss. I love stories told through haiku, and a bonus is that I learned a lot too!

Pip. Pip. Pip. Poking.
A hole, cracking. Cracking. Crack!
Pink owlet peeks out.


Readers young and old will enjoy and learn from all three of these books!  

A big thank you to Jama for hosting today's Poetry Friday on her blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup











25 comments:

  1. What a great collection! Laura's poem is truly lovely. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. The entire book is like that. Magical is the word that comes to mind!

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  2. Wow! Your bookshelf must be smiling...what beautiful picture books. I'm really looking forward to reading Secrets of the Loon. I like Laura's backstory on how the book came to be. Thanks for highlighting these beauties.

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    1. Thanks, Linda. I'm not sure if my bookshelves are smiling. They are so full, it's hard to squeeze in another book, but I loved all of these and had to have them!

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  3. I don't know your loon - but I do know the mood it brings to stories. (Like the progressive poem this year!) I already wanted to get my hands on Laura's book... and then you shared that poem. *swoon* 'bill meets wing meets folded leg.' My heart... I am so impressed with America's love of poetry in its many forms!

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    1. Yes, isn't that an amazing line? I hope you can get a copy of Laura's book. You will love it!

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  4. I have Laura's book and love it, still haven't shared it, yet. I know about the others and need to find and read them. Others have said great things about all these, too, Linda. I'm glad you highlighted them today!

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  5. Thanks for these peeks inside these books. I especially love the perfection of Laura's opening poem - and can't wait to read the rest of it.

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    1. Perfection is so right. I know you'll enjoy Laura's book and the others too!

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  6. These look wonderful. I agree, Laura's opening is stunning.

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  7. Linda, you did a marvelous job of enticing me to read these books. I did view Laura's Facebook video about her book. It is a stunning layout with wonderful poetry. Thank you for adding sample poems from each book.

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    1. Thank you, Carol! Yes, I loved hearing Laura read her book on the video.

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  8. I love all of Laura's work and have a fresh copy of Secrets of the Loon I was planning to write about today. Alas, I looked at your post first. I'm intrigued by the owl haiku book. That one seems to be a wonderful mentor text for kids. I teach my students ways haiku can work and would love to show them how it can be used for nonfiction poetry writing.

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    1. Margaret, the haiku in the owl book doesn't feel like haiku at all. Each poem is so well-done, you don't notice the form. I think that's pretty cool!

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  9. More books added to my cart! Thank you for the sneak peek. I also love haiku. Have you read Guess Who Haiku? And of course I have it at school and can’t recall the author.

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  10. Hi Amy, I haven't read the book you mentioned, but now I'm curious and will look for it. Thanks for the suggestion!

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  11. Thanks for spotlighting these three books (I've only seen Maria's book). Laura's opening poem is exquisite! Somehow reading about baby animals makes me feel so much better.

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  12. I'm jealous of your book shelf, Linda! Thanks for sharing these...

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  13. Great trio of books! I've been waiting for Laura's book and for Maria's. Thanks for sharing about Welcome to Your World.

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  14. Thanks so much, Linda! I can't wait to read Maria's book, and I was unaware of the WELCOME one--I love Jaime Kim's art, so this one's going straight on my tbr list, too!

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  15. What gifts to arrive on your doorstep! Looking forward to having them in my hands.

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  16. Happy baby books! I appreciate the little tastes and hope I'll receive some of them for my NCTE reading. The writing in Laura's book looks exquisite!

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  17. So nice to see you and Margaret posting about Laura's book this week, as well! It is a beauty of a book for sure. I have not yet read the others, but they are definitely on my list!

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