Sidman, Joyce. Dear Acorn, (Love Oak): Letter Poems to Friends. Melissa Sweet, Illus. Clarion, 09/2025. 40pp. Picture Book. Trade $19.99. 978-0-3583-3476-7. GRADES Preschool–3. OUTSTANDING.
A moving collection of epistolary (letter) poems of interrelated everyday objects sharing their special relationships with an engaging combination of profoundness and relatability. Acorn writes to oak, pebble to river, and button to coat, and each allows us to experience the details of their special relationships. Double-page spreads of textured and layered mixed-media collages and well-integrated fonts perfectly illustrate eight pairs of poems emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things. Sometimes rhyming and sometimes in free verse, the collection provides a great introduction to the use and power of sensory imagery, concrete form, personification, alliteration, simile, metaphor, and perspective. Readers are invited to create their own letter poems with a guide and well-crafted prompts. Everything within the cover invites the curious to come closer to wonder.
Alexandre Petrakis—San Francisco Public Library