I Hear The Trees: Untamed Poems From Mother Earth

K-Gr 5–The epigraph of this poetry collection sets the tone for the work: “when I walk/ wide-eyed/ through today/ yesterday is forgotten/ tomorrow faraway.” With these few words, Weil invites readers to exist in the moment and immerse themselves in these poems and in nature. Poems address the entire sensory experience of nature and touch on a variety of emotions, ranging from a moving poem that includes a mention of the death of a dog to a humorous alliterative poem about berries eaten by birds. There is subject matter for nearly every reader—these poems feature topics such as space, snakes, insects, dinosaurs, beets, and even a gross-out poem about rotting fruits and vegetables that provide a home for insects. All of them enchant and engage. No book of nature poetry would be complete without a discussion of conservation, and the author reminds readers that “as neighbors . . . my earth is your earth.” It makes sense that the author has a background in performance art—these poems dance across the page. The picture book format makes them accessible to a younger pre-reader audience; however, the content and the vocabulary invite older elementary school readers to join in as well. Suggestions at the end of the book from the Centre on Literacy in Primary Education offer ways to further engage in some of the poems. Teachers, librarians, and parents will be able to use these as a springboard for their own activities that engage children in literature and nature.