NPM 2020 Day 10: Lion of the Sky

Have you ever heard of Riddle-ku?  Neither had I until this collection!

I don’t think I’ve even BEGUN to fangirl over Laura Purdie Salas’ poetry often enough in my blog.  Her work is plentiful and stunning.  This collection is one of my new favorite discoveries (and you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m buying a copy for my classroom!).

“Lion of the Sky: Haiku for all Seasons” is a haiku collection unlike any I’ve ever seen before.  Each one is a riddle that lets the reader guess what the poem is talking about.  Sometimes the pictures help to find the answer, sometimes they don’t.  The very first one in the book blew my mind because the answer wasn’t even SHOWN in the illustration!  It was hinted at.  GENIUS!

Riddle-ku is something Laura invented on her own, but I think we need to make it a legit form for MANY, many poets to use.  Because this is one heck of an awesome form of poetry!  Seriously, I ate this book up!  It’s fantastic.

And I picked ONE poem to share with you because I loved the illustration by Merce Lopez that it was paired with the most.  It’s a gorgeous set of poems AND illustrations together.  This is what every picture book poetry collection should be: the perfect marriage of both art forms.

And if you’re looking for more poetry fun this month, be sure to check out the Kidlitosphere Event Roundup!