I Am the Book Poems Author:Lee Bennett Hopkins, Yayo (Illustrator) In this picture-book collection from veteran anthologist Hopkins, 13 well-known children’s poets celebrate how books can take readers on wild adventures (“I storm / toward shackled screams / of a kidnapped damsel”), as well as how plain words can reveal the surprising drama in ordinary things, even the rhyming sounds of a clock... more »: “tick-tock / ding-dong / bing-bong.” Karla Kuskin speaks about the “wonders of wandering / wonderful pages” and “the nonsense and knowledge” the come “tumbling out.” And in another selection, Kristine O’Connell George writes, “riding home from the library, / don’t need a window seat. / Got a great new book to read, / eleven more beneath my feet.” The whimsical, light-toned acrylic artwork extends the metaphors with witty, fantastical transformations of books: in one scene, a dark-blue book cover becomes an ocean, where you can “dive in the sea of words and swim.” Fun for sharing with preschoolers, this will also spark discussion in grade-school writing and art classes. Notes about each poet are appended. (Booklist-Hazel Rochman)« less