Thanku is a lovely collection of various forms of poetry, written by a variety of well-known and little-known poets, around the theme of gratitude. Perfect for any time of year, it’s especially relevant for the Thanksgiving holiday. The poems evoke many different moods and kids and adults alike will enjoy learning some new forms that are a nice change from the usual ones that people are familiar with.

A diverse group of authors share their gratitude. As a teacher, I not only appreciated the poems themselves, but the fact that the poetic forms were identified.

Thanku, edited by Miranda Paul, is an enchanting anthology of gratitude poetry accompanied by gorgeous artwork. There are many things we have to be thankful for, and these poems can teach young readers how to be thankful for even the simplest things in life. Each poem is a different style. At the bottom of each page it tells what type of poem it was. I was so tickled that pantoum was included! That's one of my favourite types to write.

Highly recommended!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Lerner Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thanku
Poems of Gratitude

by Miranda Paul

Lerner Publishing Group

Millbrook Press ™

Children’s Fiction , Poetry

Pub Date 03 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of ThankU (Poems Of Gratitude) through Lerner Publishing Group/Millbrook Press and Netgalley:

In this small collection of poetry many ways to show gratitude are expressed everything from gratitude to our families, gratitude for the obstacles we face and gratitude for our family.

Though brief this collection has a powerful message one that needs to be shared, one that speaks of gratitude for who we are, where we come from and the everyday gifts around us!

I believe Thanku: Poems Of Gratitude to be a great teaching tool on teaching kids to be grateful for who they are and where they come from. Therefore I feel this book is worthy of five out of five stars

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude is illustrated by Marlena Myles (Myles is Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscokee Creek) and edited by Miranda Paul.

First, what I want you to notice when you look at the cover is the order of the names of the people who illustrated and edited the book. Myles's name is shown first. I don't think I've seen that before... and I like it! I might look for information about that arrangement. It is unusual but elevates art and artists. In recent months I've seen many people ask us not to ignore the illustrator's name. There is a lot to notice, and praise, in Thanku! Teachers, especially, will find Miranda Paul's work (as the editor) exceptionally helpful. Unobtrusively on each page, there's a note about the kind of poem each one is, and the back matter includes definitions.

Second, I love seeing the names of all the poets on the cover. And as you might guess, I'm thrilled to see names of Native women there!

Kimberly Blaeser's poem is "Flights." Its format is "concrete (shape)." When I was teaching, kids really liked to study shape poems. The words in her poem are arranged in the shape of a bird in flight, as seen from above (or below). The color palette Myles chose for Blaeser's poem is one of the light pastels of the sky and clouds. Blaeser is an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

Students also like found poems. Carole Lindstrom's poem, "Drops of Gratitude" is a found poem. For it, Myles created a young woman in profile, gazing at three blocks of mostly-blacked-out words. The words that aren't left out are the poem Lindstrom wrote. She is Metis/Ojibwe and is tribally enrolled with the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. I want to know what book she used to create her found poem! I'd love to see teens turn racist content in their textbooks into found poems that embody Indigenous resistance!

The poem from Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Creek Nation) is "Stories for Dinner." It spans two pages, and in its verses, it spans time. The stories in the chant, free verse poem are about boarding school, war, and the "everyday heroes" who plan for future generations. I especially like Myles art for the second page. The "Water is Life" sign embodies those everyday heroes who are fighting for clean water.

And then, there's Traci Sorell's (Cherokee Nation) cinquain, "College Degree." For it, Myles created what I think is a young Traci in a cap and gown, holding her college degree aloft, smiling broadly.

When I got a review copy of Thanku, I took to Twitter to share my thoughts about it. In my review here, I've noted only four specific poems but there are so many others that I like! And I absolutely love the range of emotion and impact that Myles created for each poem.

In short, I highly recommend Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, due out in September from Millbrook Press. It is #OwnVoices at its very best!

So, so beautifully illustrated! The poets and poems are shared thoughtfully and also include descriptions of countless poetic forms that are labeled on each page. The literary devices are included in the back matter with definitions and question prompts so readers can try to compose their own. All contributors are also listed.

Miranda Paul shares her goals in her editing process as well as early memories of celebrating gratitude connected to Thanksgiving. She goes on to share the single story she heard as a child and challenges educators to seek more inclusive materials when sharing the fuller context of Thanksgiving.

A lovely collection of poetry for children (and adults too!) about being grateful and living a life of gratitude… Not just for the month of November! Beautifully illustrated also. Great discussion starters for any classroom.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a sweetly illustrated book of poems by diverse modern poets with the theme of thankfulness. Each poem is accompanied by brightly painted art. I really liked the fact that the bottom of the page named the type of poem, and a glossary was provided at the end explaining all of the different poem styles. In general, there really weren't any poems that really moved me, but the book has a lovely feel to it. The author points out that books about gratitude tend to only focus on autumn and Thanksgiving, and that the book was designed to represent thankfulness all year, which I appreciated.

This would make a great book to accompany a poetry unit, especially to illustrate the many types of poems to kids.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

This was a sweet collection of illustrated poetry. It was cute and sincere. It's a great read for kids.

An exceptional collection and collaboration on the part of the editor and the illustrator. Great job and I hope to use it in my classroom.

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude is a beautifully illustrated book of poetry for children age 6+. I thoroughly enjoyed not only the illustrations, but the poems themselves which are from many different cultures and written in a wide variety of poetic formats.

I especially appreciated that the type of poetic format was named on the page of each poem and explained in the glossary. The glossary also includes a brief biography of each poet. All in all, the book is very well done and gets a 5-star review from me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Milbrook Press for allowing me to read an ARC of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own. The book is scheduled to be published on 9/3/19.

Thanku is a poetry book filled with poems about our world and how gratitude can be practiced by appreciating the smallest of things. The artwork in this book is stunning. Gorgeous pictures pull you in at the turn of every page. A beautiful compilation made to savor and enjoy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent reading these poems and looking at the illustrations. The variety of voices and the variety of types of poems is engaging. Thank you poems focus us on the things in our live that make us grateful. I think this would be a fine book to share with children, and then encourage them to write thanku poems, too.