It’s time!  National Poetry Month is here!  And this year, I’m trying something new.  I’m going in alphabetical order of the books I’ve chosen.

ALASKA IS FOR THE BIRDS! is a collection of poetry about birds found in Alaska.  I can’t say found only in Alaska, as many of them migrate other places.  Each poem is written by Susan Ewing who has lived in Alaska (though she now lives in Montana) and written many books.  The illustrations were done by Evon Zerbetz in traditional relief printmaking.  She too lives in Alaska, in the Southeast where I grew up (though she lives in Ketchikan and I grew up in Sitka).

As a bit of a bird lover myself, I already knew many of the birds mentioned in the poems in this book, but there were still some surprises.  So much so, that I didn’t believe one of the poems veracity until I looked it up online.  I had NO idea that we had Kingfisher birds in Alaska!  I’ve never seen or heard of one in my life!  That being said, I chose this poem to showcase (I can absolutely admit when I’m wrong) because I was so floored to learn this little fact.  AND I will share the back matter about this bird as well (because who doesn’t love back matter?).

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