Wandering Among the Stars by Wirton Arvel

Genre: Poetry
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
The motivational biography of a poet, a tale written in prose with many poems and inspirational quotes.
‘Wandering among the stars’ tells the love story between the protagonist and life.

A story where poetry and prose are intertwined like soul and body, to bring this love story to life so the reader can live it.

So it’s not about a collection of poems, least of all a story in verse. Maybe it could be described as a book of ‘narrated poems’ or as a ‘literary musical'; actually it represents a narrative experiment that lies somewhere between a meta-novel, a collection of poems and an essay; its main aim is to encourage those readers that usually prefer to read only prose works to read poetry as well.

It includes chapters about love, the cosmos, death,spirituality and poetry itself.

My Thoughts:
This book is a mixture of both poetry and prose.  Through the author's writing we journey with him from the beginning of his writing of poetry to the present. His writing covers many themes, especially nature.  Reading his poetry we often find him incorporating lines that refer to "little rays of sunshine". His poetry is meant to be inspirational, first to himself and then to the reader.  In the beginning of the book he talks about what poetry is. He compares it to a painter or a juggler who plays wit words.  He metaphorically describes it as "moving along dancing".   It is emotional. He follows each poem with prose to explain it.  I didn't find this to be as enjoyable as the poetry which is why I gave it four stars.  I would have liked more poetry and less prose.  However, I do understand that this is his "journey" so the prose was necessary.  With all this said, I would definitely recommend the book.  His prose is a great way to explain to my students what poetry is.

My Pictures, My Words - Mac Kenney

Publisher:  Outskirts Press
Pages:  46
Genre: Photographs and Poetry
Source:  I received a copy from the publisher

Product Description from Amazon
 Unique Book that Captures the Full Beauty of Nature and the Human Spirit. Stirring images and piercing poetry come together in this gorgeous collection from the multi-talented Mac Kenney. Here are vibrant color photographs that evoke the full range of human emotions, set against powerful verses on love, life, and the beauty that surrounds us. Ponder the mysteries of existence from a single lonely bench; reflect on what really matters as the sun drops beneath a brilliant red horizon; and examine the incredible diversity of life on our planet as you gaze on nature's wonders. Those images gain even more meaning as you read Kenney's memorable poems that urge a greater appreciation of our short time on earth. That's the message of the poem "Life," which reminds us of the dangers of settling for a "9-5" existence and the incredible reward of being bolder. "So Little Time" is about taking advantage of our brief appearance and our ability to take control of it. "You Are Here, Where Am I" is about accepting the love that's out there waiting for us. And that's just for starters. Add some humor and patriotism and you have a truly wonderful book. Perfect for reading in sequence or in bits and pieces as you need them, My Pictures, My Words is the kind of book you'll return to again and again to receive the most important kind of nourishment-food for the soul.

My Review
A simple, yet beautiful book at only 46 pages.  This book with its gorgeous pictures, photos the author had taken, along with simple poems with very deep meanings will lift, inspire and make you think about life.  It amazed me that something so simple could make me ponder so many things.  The pictures are beautiful enough to frame.  There is no age limit on this book.  The pictures could invoke hours of discussion with young ones and at the same time turn into conversations among the older ones.  My only complaint is that I would have loved to have known where some of these photographs were shot.  I hope he does more books like this because I would definitely buy them.

Dust and Other Poems - Thomas Noel Smith

Outskirt Press

Pages:  90

Adult, Poetry

Copy for review from publisher

Thomas Noel Smith’s poetry is a reflection of life in all its nuances.  In his poetry we see his thoughts on life as he has lived it.  It is full and reflective showing life through his eyes.  This is not one of those fluffy, happy poetic books.  It makes us stop and reflect on our own life.  I had to ask myself what would the poetry of my own life look like?  In a world where everything must make us feel good and happy it was refreshing to read something that made us pause and reflect.  I have a student in my class who read poetry he feels.  The poem he turned in as one of his favorites was, “Life” by Charlotte Bronte.  Not too many kids read poetry like this.  He is an aspiring poet.  He told me he writes what he feels.  I will be passing this book on to him.  It will be interesting to get his impression of the poetry within.  It was great reading poetry like this.  I enjoyed it very much.

Hate that Cat a Novel by Sharon Creech

Publisher:  Scholastic,
Pages:  153
Source:  My shelves
Genre:  Middle Grades Poetry

Sharon Creech has inspired me to use this book this next year.  I will read it aloud to my students.  It demonstrates  poetry in its uniqueness.  It lets every child know that there is no right or wrong way to write poetry.  It encourages students to write.  All of this is done through the character of Jack and his teacher Miss Stretchberry.  This was a very quick and easy book of verse.  I loved the "Books on the Class Poetry Shelf" in the back of the book.  It gave me some ideas to add to my own limited poetry shelf.  This is a definite read as is her book "Love that Dog".