Book Love: FRESH DELICIOUS

It's no secret that I love Irene Latham's work—
          her poetry for children, her poetry for adults, and her middle grade novels as well.

I also happen to love Irene's gracious personality and the authenticity with which she lives her life as a creative artist.  If I could hire her as my personal guru, I would.

Irene Latham was one of Today's Little Ditty's first Spotlight ON interviews, celebrating the release of DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST: And Other Poems from the Water Hole (Millbrook Press, 2014). This year she has two new collections of children's poetry— WHEN THE SUN SHINES ON ANTARCTICA: And Other Poems about the Frozen Continent (Millbrook Press, February 2016) and FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market (WordSong, March 2016).

I've been excited about FRESH DELICIOUS since last summer, when a few of us were given a sneak peek at an SCBWI workshop with Rebecca M. Davis, senior editor for Boyds Mills Press and WordSong.  I'm pleased to finally be able to share that excitement with you!

FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmer's Market
WordSong (March 8, 2016)  ISBN: 978-1629791036
Find at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or at your local independent bookstore.

Let me start by saying,

this collection is as fresh and delicious as they come!

Twenty-one whimsical poems about farmers' market produce are paired with Mique Moriuchi's playful collage illustrations to delight readers from age 4 to 104. Although I won't be doing an in-depth review of FRESH DELICIOUS (Jama Rattigan already did a brilliant write-up on Jama's Alphabet Soup), I'd like to share my personal impressions and a couple of poems.

What appeals to me most about this collection is that it's chock full of wonder.  Several of the poems remind me of the work of another favorite poet, Valerie Worth. In writing her "small poems," Valerie Worth keenly examined ordinary objects to find each one's "mysterious poetry," as she called it,

"...a poetry still wordless, formless, inaudible, but asking to be translated into words and images and sounds—to be expressed as a poem. Perhaps it could be said that written poetry is simply a way of revealing and celebrating the essentially poetic nature of the world itself."  
        — from Lee Bennett Hopkins' NCTE Profile of Valerie Worth

Whether it's a fleet of green submarine cucumbers, basil butterfly wings, summer squash punctuation, or treasure chests of farm fresh eggs, Irene pays respect to that inventive process in FRESH DELICIOUS. With a flavor all her own, ordinary produce becomes extraordinary as we discover each fruit and vegetable's unique and unexpected character. Irene is masterful at capturing both the imagination and enthusiasm of her youngest readers as they discover the joys of healthy eating, right down to the handful of recipes at the back of the book.

I'm telling you, kids are going to gobble this book up... and their fruits and vegetables too! 

My favorite spread from FRESH DELICIOUS has two poems about corn-on-the-cob. When I approached Irene about sharing her corn poems, she sent me a scrapbook page that included this photo of her Granddaddy Dykes standing in front of his corn garden. Isn't it marvelous?

Irene says, "this book is very much tied to my memories of summers spent at my grandparents' Port Saint Joe, Florida home... back then I didn't need a farmers' market, because we WERE the farmers!"




Now, on to the poems.... 

The first one I'm sharing is a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier— the revelation of corn's unique and unexpected character.

Text © Irene Latham. Illustrations © Mique Moriuchi. Used with permission from WordSong.

CORN

I don't know
why

they call it 
an ear

when
I see

rows 
upon rows

of tiny
noses.

                                                  Oh, those noses!!! My heart is melting like a pat of butter. 

The second poem picks up where the first left off.

Text © Irene Latham. Illustrations © Mique Moriuchi. Used with permission from WordSong.

ABOUT CORN

Mama says
we call them
ears

for the way
they grow

on the sides
of the stalk—

pert
and tufted,

tilted
away from

one
another,

listening 
to the
sun.

Listen... did you hear that? 

The sun is saying don't miss out on the opportunity to share this charming collection of poetry with all the special mice, bunnies, and other little ones in your life!


Learn more about Irene Latham by visiting her website and blog– Live Your Poem.
Learn more about Mique Moriuchi at miquemoriuchi.com.