Having recently experienced a personal loss myself, I was drawn to this short book of poems in search of empathy and comfort. The book begins with the author sharing her reason for the creation of this book, with her own personal loss and search for healing, and I appreciated this additional context to where these reflections originated and the process of healing that so many are going through every single day. The artwork was beautiful and detailed. The poems were not as poetic in the traditional sense as I was initially expecting, but they were very reflective. Each chapter takes an example of a plant or natural object in the author's surroundings that she notices while out on a walk. Each short chapter is a reflection on how the other living things connect to and relate to this natural item. They are short and sweet reflections, each with a drawing included. It forces the reader to slow down and shut out all the distractions around you and refocus on the quiet world around you. The reminder for mental and physical well-being is important, slow down, spend time outdoors, listen to the sounds of nature around you and your own internal voice. Most importantly, in one's process of grieving, seeking out support and counseling is another step in the journey of healing.
Quiet, peaceful, and empathetic. A very nice book to include in one's own journey of healing.
Thank you to the author for her openness, to the publisher, and to netgalley for the advanced copy e-read.

I do not mean to leave a poor review on someone's work, as it took them time and effort to pour into pages and the author was going through a very tough time, but this is not something I would read again.

Morning Leaves described as poetry was not really poetry. I did not find it rhyming or smooth, but rather sentences about the things she observed and how she felt or imagined them.

My favorite part of the work was actually the illustrations, this could earn five stars. It aligned well with each piece and had beautiful realistic colors.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and The Collective Book Studio for allowing me to view this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Morning Leaves, written by Laing F. Rikkers and illustrated by Kelly Leahy Radding, is a respite for the anxieties of every-day living that anyone can enjoy. This is a collection of short, illustrated poems that reach out to others, especially those who are grieving. Rikkers explains in the introduction that writing this book was how she coped with her own grief after losing her sister.

As she does her daily walks, she observes nature around her, connecting to her own soul and using metaphor to tap into deeper emotions. Using such subjects as trees, flowers, plants, and fields, it is easy to see her descent into the heart of her deepest pain through her words and then begin the gradual rise back to healing and wholeness. She makes sense of the tragedy.

Although some readers who don’t understand metaphor may miss the deeper meanings of the poetry, this book is an easy read and has beautiful illustrations. It is ideal as a gift to someone who is seeking healing from grief as it serves as a launch pad to delve into their own deeper feelings. It is also suitable for stimulating conversation individually or in groups.

This was a gentle book. We can take cues from nature to carry on with our healing. Such a lovely read.

Morning Leaves is a truly captivating collection of poems exploring nature, life, and grief that is beautiful, both lyrically and with the illustrations. While poetry isn't usually my thing, the enchanting cover and the promise of finding solace amidst sorrow drew me in. I do wish there were more poems directly addressing the connection between grief and nature, but it was comforting to see the author find beauty in life even after her personal loss.

Brief caveat: I think there are 2 personal points for me that may have affected my reading of "Morning Leaves." First, I've never experienced the type of grief which led the author to create this collection of poetry, so perhaps my lack of understanding stems from an inability to relate from personal experience. Second, I'm not the biggest fan of this style of poetry, which undoubtedly affected my personal enjoyment when reading the collection. In general, I find the method of including a few adjectives and disjointed sentences to be helpful in describing what the author feels, however I tend to prefer poetry that strives to invoke an emotional reaction within the reader.

To start, I really enjoyed the illustrations and layout of the collection. It simply was beautiful to look at, and I'm sure the physical version is stunning. That being said, I found it difficult to understand the flow of the poems. Not only within each poem individually, but also as a collection. Additionally, I found that as I was reading each poem I was trying to add meaning to them based on what I knew about the author's inspiration for writing them and the context provided in the introduction. I made it through to the poem "Wheat" (one of my favorites of the collection alongside "Scorched") before I realized I was doing this. I then decided to start from the beginning again and tried reading the poems without the background context. Doing this I found that many didn't read in a way that would invoke thoughts of grief or the various emotions one might experience through processing the loss of someone they love. Instead, they seem to lean more into the nature aspect of the author's inspiration, providing descriptive elements of the various plants but shying away from strong/clear connections to the topic of grief.

Overall, I appreciate the visuals and layout of the book. However, despite my understanding that the creation of the collection was done so in order to help the author in her own personal process of grieving, I don't believe marketing the collection as one to help others with their own grief is the best idea. As to the style and structure of the poems, they're not my personal taste but I definitely see them being well received by those who do enjoy more modern poetry.

3.5⭐
Was the artwork gorgeous? Yes.
Were the poems themselves kind of basic? Yes… but hear me out.
While the poems themselves weren’t anything new or particularly skillful, that wasn’t really the point. The point was to use nature to process through grief. Furthermore, I think if you read it you should read a poem a day and take the time to sit on the poems, let them make you feel the palpable emotions she was feeling: the grief and anger and loneliness and protectiveness.

Also, in case you’re wondering, my favorite poem was Buttercup, and not only cause it’s my favorite flower but because it was the most different of all the poems and reminded me of running through the fields of the flowers as a child.

Thanks to Netgalley for this early read. This collection of poetry while quick to finish straight through was very thought provoking. Written at the beginning of Covid and amidst terrible heartbreak, the use of plants as a visual for emotions was beautiful. You can feel the journey through feelings and struggle to continue on with life and find happiness again after hurt and anger. I really enjoyed reading it.

Not what I was expecting, but I credit the writer with their openness. The combination of art and poetry is meditative.

Oh. Oh boy.

Listen, I didn’t come here to hate on a woman’s collection of poems that she wrote in the wake of her sister’s death and at the beginning of the pandemic. Truly, I was looking forward to reading this. Death and grief are deeply personal and complex and I am always interested in people’s interpretations of it. Additionally, I thought the use of plants was an interesting aspect.

But

It took until page 20 for the poems to start. Prior to that, the author included the introduction (very useful! It painted a picture of the author’s mindset and why they wrote this!), but this started on page 9. Then the author gave suggestions. Just suggestions, like go outside and things like that. Then she wrote about how you should read the poems. I felt that this was kinda a lot at the beginning and it also felt like padding the book.

When we finally got to the poems…they weren’t really poems? The first few were straight up paragraphs, so I thought “Okay, this is a mix of musings and poetry? I can vibe with that”. But this suffers from the same problems I have with most modern poetry:

Each poem is
A sentence
Fragmented
With no rhyme
Or
Reason

There was no beat, no flow. No rhyme, no repeating sound. The poems typically went like this:

”Plant Name”
Today, I am “Plant Name”
Adjective. Adjective. Adjective.
Descriptor of plant. Descriptor of plant.
Let the fun begin or some other phrase to that effect.

Also, I don’t know if I received a bad copy or what, but the collection didn’t talk about grief either. This was advertised as musings about grief, but this was truly only about plants.

Again, if this helped the author process her grief, I am truly happy that she found catharsis in it. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.

I knew a photographer once who told me that the world is full of unnoticed things. This book takes the time to notice, consider, and empathize. The poems are simple, generally choppy, filled with short phrases and impressions. But I feel them.
I particularly adore the pea sprout, hibiscus, and buttercup poems, but I didn't find a single poem in this book that didn't make me feel something. I want this book on my shelf where I can read a little each day and revel in the feeling of being connected to something beyond myself, even if it's just a plant--especially if it's just a plant.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous! I loved the poems. They were very thought provoking. Although some I didn’t get how they related to grief and loss. But nonetheless, they were very well written.

It’s incredibly rare for me to give a book the rating of five. This book is beautiful, and we need more of that. It blends art and poetry in a soothing and rich way. I love the large artwork on the facing pages and the sweet, miniatures near the poem. Exquisite and thoughtful. I feel each creature and plant speak to me through their poem. I want to see much more like this, it brings me to a place in my mind where I become grateful, despite my grief. As for the classroom this could totally be used to model nature or geo-writing. Let the place and the living things that occupy it, speak.

I was immediately drawn to this book, even more when I saw that it covered themes of grief. This is obviously a personal book for the author, but it also feels like I could have written it, too. I really loved the metaphors the author made between nature and the experience of grief. The poems are told in free verse, which I think is perfect considering the subject matter. There is no rhyme or reason to free verse, just like grief. The author was so spot on with her metaphors that some of the poems brought me to tears because I could relate to them so much. I will absolutely be suggesting this book to people!

What I love about this book are its gorgeous illustrations. I would look at more work by the illustrator. The poetry is quite simplistic and more like what one would write in a diary than something to be published. I am honestly puzzled as to how this became an actual book for others to read. It is just not well done, not as a book of poetry or as a book on grief. I don't know that I've ever had to give this low a rating on a review but I don't see how this could be rated higher. Still, thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book was beautiful poetry! I recommend for anyone who isn’t a big fan of poetry because it is easy to understand and relate with. This book and many great things to say and you should hear. ;)

WOW!!! I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover but I sure did and this time it DID NOT disappoint. These beautiful poems were accompanied by beautiful images that had me feeling what the author must have felt. This book took me on a ride through love and loss and it's connection with nature and all living things! I will NEVER regret this impulse read. Everyone should experience this magical book at some point in their lives.

I admit I grabbed this because of the cover. And because the 5th anniversary of my Mom’s passing is fast-approaching and I felt drawn to see how someone else dealt with their grief.

What I found inside were simple poems, but some of them felt like the warmest hug and words on paper of how I feel about life at this moment.

The sentiment behind Morning Leaves is very beautiful. This was written as an exercise in managing the author’s grief of losing her sister during the pandemic. Although there are wonderful illustrations, I think the poetry is a bit too abstract to connect with. It felt like someone completing a prompt with various plants and animals. I didn’t feel the profound sense of connection I was anticipating in reading the introduction.

Thank you to NetGalley, The Collective Book Studio, and the author Laing F. Rikkers for this ARC!

I recently lost my grandmother- a vibrant soul taken too soon. Laing F. Rikkers writes a beautiful, poetic story of grief. They portray so well how grief takes many forms and creates a connection with nature to help encapsulate the complexity one feels. I really enjoyed the verse and how the flow changed poem to poem.

To the author Liang - Thank you for sharing your story with us, you showed how grief is harrowing and beautiful all at once.

The art!!! Absolutely breathtaking. I want prints in my home I love it so much. I will absolutely be picking up a copy when it is released.