Though geared towards kids aged 7-11, this book would also benefit adults, especially the self-proclaimed recovering perfectionists (Hint: me). This delightful book of adults sharing childhood mistakes in the form of stories as poems clearly demonstrates how mistakes help us understand more about ourselves and the world around us. It also reminds us that mistakes are human nature and we are not alone. This left me with a sense of relief and appreciation for my own mistakes throughout life. Highly recommend this quick read that provides a lot of room for reflection and conversations with kids and adults alike.

These poems were so so good! And I think just about everyone can relate to these on some level, it had me thinking about what I would've written about! We all have those mistakes we think about on random days when they pop up in our memories!

Everyone makes mistakes. In this book, 20 poets share examples of mistakes they made.
Each poem covers a childhood mistake like scoring a goal for the wrong team, mispronouncing a word in front of the entire class or confiding a secret after swearing to remain silent. Most children can relate to these mistakes.
Adults can also learn how to persevere, begin again and forgive themselves and others.
The illustrations are colorful and match the poems. I appreciated the attention to detail.
Mistakes are temporary, and this book can encourage and support all of us as we journey through life.

I deeply enjoyed reading these poems. They were honest. They were fun. They taught lessons without hitting the reader over the head. I liked the little vignettes that each poet wrote, explaining the origin of the poem. I thought that was handled well. The artwork was spot on. It did a lot to add to the enjoyment of this book. I wish my kid were little again, so I could read it aloud to them.

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this one and the theme of learning from your mistakes. The little notes from each of the poets was a very nice touch. Some of the poems were a little weak but for the most part this feels like a nice collection.

i absolutely adored this collection of poetry! this collection of children's poetry teaches young minds that mistakes provide lessons that one can learn from. Each author shares a poem, each about a mistake they have made, then a blurb that they use to explain the situation that caused the mistake and what they learned from it. I highly recommend parents purchase this for their children to read with their parents or on their own. excellent.

I really enjoyed this collection of poems. The childhood mistakes the authors shared with the readers are so relatable. I'm sure many of my middle-schoolers would agree. I especially loved reading the when, where, and sometimes consequences in the brief explanation. I would use this book as a read aloud and/or to plan my poetry lessons for my seventh-graders.

This was an excellent collection of poems! It's so important to learn from mistakes, a lesson that is particularly hard for my gifted kiddos who strive for perfection. I am moved by the stories in this anthology and inspired to reflect on my own mistakes that shaped me into the person I am today. I can't wait to have this book in my library in October!

Thank you to Net Galley, Irene Latham and Charles Waters (contribution selectors), Merce Lopez (illustrator), and every poet who contributed for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The art in this book is super cute and diverse, perfectly accompanying this selection of poems about mistakes people have made. It is refreshing to se the diversity as well as the various mistakes, and to be able to relate and understand we are all human and mistakes happen...and hopefully we learn from them.

My favorite poem is "Silent" by Kim Rogers about a girl whose school celebrates this "Pioneer Day" thing, but she is Native American. It's basically a celebration against her people. So eventually she stops going to school every year on that day and it turns out she celebrates her culture with her family instead! I really appreciate the perspective this poem offers. There is also a poem written in Spanish and translated to English called "Escapando" by Jorge Argueta that I also appreciated. I really like that the selectors added a poem in another language (while also offering a translation).

The diversity in this collection is a great show of the differences people have, but highlights that fact that we are all human, and thus we all make mistakes. That's a part of the human experience! A really fun book great for later elementary, middle school, or even early high school to show that mistakes happen, but they add to who we are and the stories we have to tell.

This book was a wonderful way to get to know the.authors. this poetry book is a.testament to their !mistakes growing up. I think everyone can relate to just about everything the authors wrote about their experiences. Some of the poems were funny some were "I did this and I know.what is being talked about". The book made me think of all the things I have done when I was younger. I think the kids.would love this book so much and they might ask their parents questions about their mistakes. A must read!!

I received a free copy of the.book and is voluntary writing a review

Lovely illustrations and themes.
The execution is 4 stars.
A great read for older children due to some abstract ideas in the poems.

The Mistakes That Made Us by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

The Mistakes That Make Us is an illustrated book of Poems. This book of poems wasn’t what I was expecting, however I really enjoyed the cute poems with the antidotes. The poems have great messages, showing that everyone makes mistakes, and we learn from them. It’s a cute inspirational message, told in fun playful illustrations. The poems and illustrations match nicely. This is definitely not for younger children as they would be to wordy for little attention spans, but would be great for elementary age kids, 4th to 6th grade.

Although this book wasn't what I was expecting, I still enjoyed it! I thought that the illustrations were done really well, and people looked realistic, but not overly so. This is impressive! I think that the way the illustrator decided to make illustrations to go with interpretations of each poem was a very smart idea, and it paid off immensely. The little bursts of color (and some absolutely beautiful watercolor details) were amazing and supported an artsy theme.
For the overall book, I think it's good for what it is. One thing that I really liked what how different poems with common themes were organized into specific chapters. This helped keep the book from getting to overwhelming or messy. Another thing that worked really well was the little blurbs from the poets that explained a bit about the experience the poem was drawn from or about. It gives the reader a fun look inside the making of each poem and the different poets' life experiences. It also works really well with the title because it shows just how each mistake shaped each poet.
Everything about this book was great, I just want to make sure to note that, while it might not seem so, I think this book is definitely for 5th-8th graders. I would not have a young reader read this, simply because they just wouldn't find it interesting yet. Among that, there is just one other note I'd like to make. I think that this book will quickly become boring to kids that aren't fully into poetry. While it is mostly just writing short stories in a different form, I don't think that kids that don't usually go for poetry would get bored of this book pretty quickly. Although, there is a very diverse range of types of poems and experiences that will likely resonate with every kid, whether they like poetry or not.

Not particularly engaging. The poetry isn't really visual and doesn't elicit much feeling or shared embarrassment. Not recommended.

I'm not much of a poetry person myself, but i found these bits delightful. The stories are entertaining, the illustrations captivate the reader and I love how encouraging it is. I think pre-teens and older kids would benefit from reading this one.

I thought it was a good read for older children. However I found it a bit hard to follow. It did not seem to flow right for me. The illustrations were nice and it was well conceptualized.

"The Mistakes That Made Us" is a fantastic book to teach young children that it is okay (and maybe even GOOD!) to make mistakes and the power of a growth mindset. I really liked reading the poems but my favorite part was the blurb from each author about what they learned from their mistakes. The illustrations are also colorful and fun to look at. I'm looking forward to reading this book with my perfectionist 6 year old!

Everybody makes mistakes! In this book, there are wonderful poems by people who learned from their own mistakes. The poets also explain the real-life situations that inspired them. This is fantastic both as a poetry collection and as a book that can help people realize that their mistakes don't define them in a negative way. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

The Mistakes That Made Us is a wonderful anthology of poems for young readers about mistakes and how you deal with them. I really loved this book. The mistakes it talked about varied from very silly to serious, but each one let the reader know that they were not alone.

As a child, I worried a lot anytime I made small mistakes. A book like this could have been so helpful! I would definitely recommend it for littles! The poems are fun & engaging. There are so many wonderful poets included that I feel like everyone would find something that touches their heart in this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing, and all of the amazing poets for the chance to read & review!

4.5 stars! I love the title of this book. I love that the poems feel accessible, and that there are short, kid-friendly explanations of what they learned from each mistake. The illustrations are amazing as well.

I would just encourage discretion with a few of the stories. One story is about a boy who skips school once, and another is about a girl who says “So I didn’t try my hardest [and it worked out better that way].” For some kids, hearing such messaging would be unhelpful. However, I’m guessing that most kids who need this book (on mistakes being okay) err on the side of being too perfectionistic, and it would be alright to lighten up a little.

This is a great book and seems age-appropriate for the recommended 7-11 age group. I could see it being used at home or in a classroom. Thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC; these are my honest opinions.