38 haiku evocative haiku poems take us through the seasons of Maine, along the ocean and through the woods... The illustrations are beautiful, the poems say so much in so few words.
Here is a winter haiku for the season:
Snowflakes twirling down
Heartbeats solitary sound
Quiet winter day.

This one, describes spring:
fluorescent green shoots
through melting granular snow
mud intermingles

I'm sure next time i pick up the collection, in a different season, a 'new' poem will speak to me.

​Fun language and bold, colorful illustrations take us through the year, with poems about major holidays like Thanksgiving as well as lesser days, like Groundhog Day. Raven Howell’s poems have humor, heart, rhyme and rhythm. Meredith Fern’s bright, colorful cutout illustrations add lightness and joy to the lighthearted poems. There is also an element of surprise, as the theme a poem focuses on is not always what you would first think of. This is a great way to introduce special days to youngsters. The book is a fun read! 

Practicing gratitude, sustaining an attitude of gratefulness for life’s many blessing, is important to me. There are so many simple things in life that we can be thankful for. That is why I love Miranda Paul’s anthology, ThankU: Poems of Gratitude. Ill. by Marlena Myles. Lerner/ Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press. Each poem focuses on the concept of gratitude, and each also introduces various poetic forms, which are explained in the glossary. The illustrations add simple beauty to the poems.

At the beginning of the year someone challenged me to list 50 things I’m grateful for… I’ll just list five here: I’m grateful for health and hugs, friends and family, nature and it’s beauty, books and the creativity to write,  my faith and my God. OK I cheated – that was more like ten than five! So… What are you grateful for today?

​Paul, Miranda. Ed. 2019. Thanku: Poems of Gratitude. Ill. by Marlena Myles. Lerner/ Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press.