First of all I just wanted to thank NetGalley and White Lion Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I really think this is such a wonderful idea creating a poetry journal, it includes all the essentials around the different types of poetry you can created and even has little prompts to remember throughout.

I’ve personally gotten really into poetry recently and I love how amazing it is at expressing feelings that are sometimes hard to understand or express verbally. It gives you a lot of freedom and ability to be passionate and really delve deeply into those feelings in a way that’s not possible in many other outlets. It’s always been hard for me to relieve these difficult emotions but I’ve started finding my outlet through poetry and I really think this journal is a gem, for anyone whose just starting out or even a seasoned author or poetry.

The illustrations throughout are utterly mesmerising, and I really like the fact that it’s split into seasons with prompts to write poetry about specific idea or feelings around these seasons. It’s a very gentle and encouraging way to get yourself into poetry, particularly if you’re unsure where to begin.

I also found the poems that are sprinkled throughout to be an incredible addition, and an extra push of inspiration when it feels hard to fully connect with feelings or thoughts around certain ideas or prompts. I also found them really comforting to read, it was a really lovely reminder of what you’re creating for and helps refocus.

Unfortunately as I only had an online ARC it was a bit more difficult to fully delve into it but I did try some poems and I found it really inspiring and engaging. I’m looking forward to going out and buying my own physical copy to get fully stuck into this journey and expressing my emotions through such a beautiful form of literature.

I have always been a huge fan of the poetry-journal genre, and A Little Sunshine and A Little Rain did not disappoint. The poems are heart felt and creative. I loved each one!

4.5 stars

The journal looks amazing and it had great examples in the beginning. An explanation from the book will describe it better than I could:

“Divided into seasons, this journal is designed to spark your imagination throughout the year. Each season contains poems, prompts, and illustrations that you can use season by season, or flick through to find a prompt that inspires you in that moment.”

The journal has plenty of space for writing and I liked some of the poems. I think the only thing unnecessary in the book is that the explanation of what is haiku and freeform are explained twice.

A few poems that I liked:

“i have dreams that have never known
how to stay in one place,
jumping from cloud to cloud
and floating away in the wind like a lost balloon.
i have a soft heart
that likes to live in the wild
and deep bruises under tired eyes
that will never stop searching.
i have hurricanes raging inside
but a mouth full of silences
and hands that are grateful
even when they have nothing to hold.
so if you are looking at me
wondering why i speak with my eyes,
know that sometimes you have to look
a little deeper than the surface.”

“i grew up in a town
where the wild only grew
between the cracks
in the pavement,
but before i truly knew the world
(or even myself ),
the sky shifted
and so did the meaning of ‘home’.
but after a while,
my eyes adjusted to the dark
and new dreams
were born from the storm.
and so, when they ask me
where i belong
(because for some reason,
they always do)
i will take a deep breath
and call out to the night:
tell the city i miss it
but i’m in love with the wild.”

“i realised i had spent a lifetime
living in the shadow of the mountains
and dreaming about the view
from the highest peak.
now i am no longer afraid of the climb.”

“it is okay to fall
like the colours in autumn.
after all,
the tree that keeps its leaves
will never truly appreciate
how it feels to grow.”

“the past is heavy
like the november sky
so why do you still try
to carry every storm
on your shoulders?
let go of your rain,
it isn’t meant to stay”

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy for an honest review.

I received a copy for an honest review. I enjoyed the activities in this journal. It's a great intro into journaling, gives some basics as far vocabulary and format. I enjoyed the breakdown into seasons as well as the prompts. Examples of poetry throughout were delightful to read.

This elegant and insightful book brings together a collection of prompts, poetry and illustrations alongside space for your own reflections, notes, musings and poems, providing comfort, inspiration, guidance and food for thought.

Would be a nice gift to a teenager or someone who likes to start journaling and needs some inspiration to let the creativity flow.
The vocabulary and explanation at the beginning are very helpful. The prompts are suitable, but quite basic. For a beginner they will be wonderful.

Great poetry book and journal for anyone wanting a way to prompt their own writing, or get out of a writers block. The poems in this book are separated by seasons and are very lovely. This book and journal is a great way to unwind and practice writing poetry

''i can grow from the rain.''

This little journal helped me with my writing and I'm grateful. I also really liked those poems hidden between the pages!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of the book.

this book is like a rainbow - you find yourself searching for it smiling and it inspires you to be creative in ways you did not necessarily know you could be.
I love poetry and this book really helped explore why so much. I actually went out and bought it.
Wonderful book highly recommended and I am very grateful thank you.

Though poetry is regaining popularity through the efforts of viral poets such as Neil Hilborn and Andrea Gibson, for aspiring poets, it can be difficult to know how to start turning your thoughts, feelings and experiences into art. 'A Little Sunshine and a Little Rain', by Sabina Laura, is a fantastic resource for those wanting to dip their toes into poetic waters. Designed to focus more on writing than a deep-dive into the mechanics of poetic techniques, Laura ensures the theory provided is quick, simple, and easy both to understand, and to return to as you write. The prompts, and included poetry, are arranged to reflect the seasons, giving aspiring poets a year of poems to write, and savour. While these prompts may not provide more experienced poets much of a challenge, A Little Sunshine and a Little Rain' is a fantastic resource for aspiring and novice poets, and a fun way to familiarise yourself with different forms and poetic techniques.

This is a great little book packed full of tips and prompts for writing poetry! The design and structuring of the book is excellent and I would recommend to anyone who wants to turn their hand at writing some poetry.

3 stars

A journal of poetry prompts, themed by the four seasons, with example poems provided for each prompt. There is basic info on literary techniques & poetry styles at the beginning for reference.

[What I liked:]

•The prompts are nice, varied & specific enough to avoid repetitiveness without being restricting.

•The layout & margin art is lovely! I do like the four seasons & nature themes.

•Overall, this is a neat concept! Back when I was teaching secondary English, something like this would have been a neat semester project.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I recommend getting a paper copy of this. I’ve been using the prompts, & doing my writing in a notebook. The e-book is pretty, I just don’t see much usefulness in getting this format of a journal.

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This is a neat little poetry journal with guides and prompts to help those interested in writing poetry. It is divided into four sections named after the seasons of the year. Inside there are many practices to aid different writing styles and I reckon this would be useful and helpful for anyone intending to write poetry.

Organized by season, this is a sweet little book offering a variety of prompts to get you started writing poems. I was a little skeptical at first, but actually found this to be pretty nice, and I can see using it and following the calendar year to actually write the poems during their corresponding season. The author also includes example poems, which I wasn't so into, but which could definitely be a plus for some people. Overall, this is a pretty simple book, but also worth flipping through if you need some inspiration to get started writing poems.

"Poetry changes the way we see the world" is how the book commences and it takes you on an exploratory journey and discovery of your own poetic side. Beautifully laid out and decorated with wonderful poems, prose and prompts to get you thinking and creating your own poetry in no time at all. A wonderful collection for you to keep after in a beautiful book. I loved that while it gave you a brief introduction to various styles of poetry writing it encouraged you to just discover your own style and your own voice and expression. It is broken down by seasons of a year. Autumn was my absolutely favorite, and while I enjoyed the prompts to discover my own poetry I adored the pieces of work the author chose to include. Will definitely be on the hunt for her collection! Highly recommend for anyone who likes to dabble in writing and expressing themselves, even if only to themselves.

I love this poetry journal. It includes the basics of poetry structure and types of poetry in a way that is clear and easy to understand. It is a great resource for the poetry that the journal encourages you to write in the following pages. The rest of the book contains short, simple poetry prompts that allow the reader a lot of flexibility with the poems they create. The prompts are simple but not lacking in power, and create the basis for beautiful poetry. Interspersed with the poetry prompts are lined pages for exploring one's own poetic attempts as well as bits of poetry that give examples of the prompts fulfilled. Additionally, the prompts are organized by season, in a way that flows.

*4.5

This is a perfect journal for beginner poets, people returning to poetry after a while, and poets who are in a writing rut. Some of the prompts can be a bit basic, but most of them are interesting and can be personalized to create great works (I wish there was a hashtag or something for people to share what they've written with each prompt). There are poems interspersed between the prompts that are unrelated, but very good. I would love to read her other book of poetry. The art is very cute and I love how it's broken up by season. I also love how there is a small guide to elements of poetry at the beginning to help newer poets. I overall absolutely recommend it.

I think, if someone you know is into Instagram poetry, this would be a nice gift. There are some good prompts here, and some nice verses to inspire, but I guess I like to push a little harder with poets.

This is a nice little poetry journal. When you first open it gives you an introduction to writting poetry explaining the different techniques and structure.

The journal is broken into 4 seasons. Each season has example poems to give you inspiration to write your own from the prompts and ideas it gives you like ' write a poem imagining you are on the moon, looking down on the earth.'

Its a very tidy style with white background and blue ink. The journal gives you plenty of space to write more than one poem or be creative with layout.

The only reason i have given it 4 stars is that it doesn't work as an ebook. As you can't write in the book (which is the whole point of a journal) but also it shows two pages at a time which means you have to zoom and slide which isn't practical.

This is a sweet little poetry journal that gives you prompts every few pages like "write a piece of prose about the sound of the waves crashing and the warmth of the sun against your skin." The pages are lined with simple illustrations every few pages and prompts about every two or three pages. The beginning has a few pages about common poetic types and techniques. The color scheme is blue and white, and the book is split into seasons with prompts loosely associated with each season. Most of the prompts are too specific for me (and about topics I don't necessarily write about) and are probably best suited to beginning poets. The author also has a lot of her own poems sprinkled in the journal, which generally go along with the prompts.

I was excited to preview this book as I had been looking for new poetry resources to get me back into writing. I majored in creative writing in college and had over a hundred poems published in my twenties, when I used to do moody poetry readings in coffee houses and all that dramatic business. I thought this book would be right up my alley but it wasn't a great fit for me. It's likely to work well for many, though, and probably be a great resource for teen writers.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.