By Jane Nickodem

I admit it!  I am forever delighted by children’s literature and am always on the lookout for

the next children’s book to enchant me.  A favorite genre is picture books that illustrate poems

or have text that rhymes. On a recent trip to Door County, I happened upon two delightful but

very different books that resonated.

In the bookstore at The Clearing, a folk school in Ellison Bay, I found a small picture

book illustrated by Tequitia Andrews.  The text and title of the book is a poem by Langston

Hughes called An Earth Song.  The poem depicts a child-like and plainly stated deep longing

for the return of spring. The simple and bold illustrations are impactful and appealing.

Tequitia (tah-key-tah) Andrews, from Richmond Virginia, is an artist and illustrator who has had

a life-long passion for art.  A self-taught artist, she used YouTube videos to hone her

craft.

An Earth Song is part of a series called “petite poems” by Cameron + Company

(Petaluma,California).  Hope Is the Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson and Theme in

Yellow by Carl Sandburg are also in this Cameron Kids series.  

Another children’s picture book that attracted my attention is Equality’s Call: The Story of

Voting Rights in America by Deborah Diesen, who is known for Pout-Pout Fish.

It’s an excellent and compelling overview of the history of voting rights written in verse.  A

mantra-like  phrase builds throughout the text, for example: “But we heard growing clearer

Equality’s call:  A right isn’t a right till it’s granted to all.” This book would be appropriate for

introducing young children to the Quaker Peace Testimony. The illustrations convey a sense of

urgency and are the work of Magdalena Mora, an illustrator from Minneapolis who uses her art

to promote social change.  This is her first children’s picture book.

Although these books are now part of my personal collection, I am happy to share them with

Interested Friends!