Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z

by Irene Latham, Charles Waters, Mehrdokht Amini (Illustrator)

Overview

How can we make the world a better place?

This inspiring resource for middle-grade readers is organized as a dictionary; each entry presents a word related to creating a better world, such as ally, empathy, or respect. For each word, there is a poem, a quote from an inspiring person, a personal anecdote from the authors, and a "try it" prompt for an activity.

This second poetic collaboration from Irene Latham and Charles Waters builds upon themes of diversity and inclusiveness from their previous book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship. Illustrations from Iranian-British artist Mehrdokht Amini offer readers a rich visual experience.

"Latham and Waters's personal stories are plainspoken and relatable . . . and the suggested actions, accessible. . . The approach creates multiple pathways for engagement. Extensive supplementary materials include an index of poetic forms."—starred, Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541557758
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/04/2020
Pages:	120
Sales rank:	92,832
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	960L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Irene Latham is the author of more than a dozen current and forthcoming works of poetry, fiction, and picture books, including Charlotte Huck Honor Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship (co-written with Charles Waters) and the Caldecott Honor Book The Cat Man of Aleppo(co-written by Karim Shamsi-Basha). Winner of the 2016 ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, she became obsessed with octopuses after reading The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. Just like Agnes, she enjoys sending—and receiving—postcards. Visit her at www.irenelatham.com.

Charles Waters is a children's poet, actor, and co-author of Charlotte Huck Honor Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship. His poems have appeared in various anthologies including One Minute Till Bedtime and The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry. Charles performs his one-person show as well as conducts poetry performance and writing workshops for elementary and middle school audiences. He lives in Georgia.

Mehrdokht Amini is an Iranian-born children's book illustrator. She has been nominated for a Kate Greenaway Medal and been invited to participate in the prestigious Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations. She lives in the UK.

Editorial Reviews

★ 12/02/2019

“Awash in attempts to help cool our fevered world, we/ Begin simply with words.” Each term in this unconventional dictionary receives a four-part exploration alongside Amini’s eclectically illustrated spreads: a poem, an inspirational quote, a first-person anecdote from the authors, and suggested “Try It!” actions. Latham and Waters rifle the storehouse of poetic forms, using structure to clarify meaning, for example through a senryu, “Service”: “helping hands fill plates/ with meat-and-potato peaks/ hope is gravy.” Forms range from the aubade to the villanelle, each explained in a brief caption. Latham and Walter’s personal stories are plainspoken and relatable (Latham: “One of the quickest ways to get myself out of a funk is to... get busy serving others”), and the suggested actions, accessible: “Look into service opportunities in your area.” The approach creates multiple pathways for engagement. Extensive supplementary materials include an index of poetic forms. Ages 8–12. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Creates multiple pathways for engagement."—starred, Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

02/01/2020

Gr 4 Up—This collaborative effort from the team behind Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship utilizes poetry to explore identity, diversity, empathy, social justice, community, and change. Each entry seeks to examine, rather than define, a central concept (such as acceptance, equality, or kindness) and consists of a quotation, poem, personal anecdote, and a "Try it!" prompt to encourage readers to take action. A color-coded table of contents indicates the author of each poem, and the anecdotes shared by each poet contextualize both the poems and the selected terms. The featured quotes come from a variety of sources representing diverse perspectives and identities. Amini's rich illustrations, rendered in acrylic, digital painting, collage, and photography, thoughtfully complement each entry. Each poem includes a note about the form used, adding to the collection's potential as a mentor text for young poets. Back matter includes an authors' note, references for the selected quotations, additional recommended reading, poetry resources, and an index of poetic forms. VERDICT While some poems and entries are more successful than others, this inclusive, thought-provoking anthology offers a number of entry points for exploring concepts and issues related to identity, social justice, and making a difference. Recommended.—Lauren Strohecker, McKinley Elementary School, Elkins Park, PA

School Library Journal

2019-10-09
Instead of an ordinary dictionary, poets Latham and Waters have alphabetized their vision of "a better world."

This compilation of alphabetized words offers readers opportunities to reflect upon vocabulary that uplifts and acts to improve human connection and community. Each word is introduced with a poem and a quote, often from children's literature, that provide a deeper expression of the chosen word. These are followed by an anecdote that offers personalized context. "Compassion," for instance, presents an aubade about siblings who care for their sick mother before walking together to the bus stop. In Amini's textured collage, two young black children "steep Mama / in hugs and blankets," their love and concern glowing from the page. A quote from Julius Lester instructs readers that "there is nothing we need to understand to be compassionate with each other," and Latham offers her musing on what compassion means to her. Finally, under the rubric "Try It!" are prompts that elicit engagement to amplify the word as action. Unlike many alphabet books, there is not always just one word per letter; some letters gather several words together. This collection is best summed up in the last poem, "The Etymology of Progress": "What makes the world / a zinger / is remembering / we're all in this… / together."

A creative and inspirational resource suitable for a broad range of ages and uses. (authors' note, bibliography, further reading, resources, index, thanks) (Poetry. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews