HERRERA, Juan Felipe. Jabberwalking. 144p. illus. Candlewick. Mar. 2018. Tr $22.99. ISBN 9781536201406.

Gr 7 Up –Poets are Jabber Walkers “with eyes of flame” in Herrera’s latest for young adults. Applying this extended metaphor from Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky,” Herrera, former Poet Laureate of the United States, empowers teens to move with their feet and their voices, using written words to break down walls erected by themselves and others. Divided into 15 instructional chapters, Herrera details the life of a Jabber Walker, offering practical guidance to speak one’s truth through poetry. The poet is a master at enticing readers, asking them to read quickly or stop and slow down with an inspired use of vocabulary and alliterative combinations (“screechy, scratchy, crackly clouds”); this is further encouraged by black-and-white illustrations, a smart use of white space, and text in varying sizes. “Jabber Notebook” prose entries provide glimpses into Herrera’s life: the day his father died, and how he started walking downtown like his Papá Felipe; the first school teacher who believed in him; and being forced to only speak English in school (“Does that happen to you?” he asks readers). Herrera provides space for budding poets to learn how to write and encourages them to practice using the first secret of this collection: “You do not have to know where you are going! Or what you are saying!” VERDICT Deeply personal and profoundly unique, this is a highly recommended purchase for every young adult yearning to be heard.–Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

This review was published in the School Library Journal April 2018 issue.