Today’s poetry picture book is one of those brilliant ones that make you sit back and go “why didn’t I think of that?”

BEING A DOG: A TAIL OF MINDFULNESS is bloody brilliant!  Maria Gianferrari wins again!  I wouldn’t immediately think of mindfulness and dogs paired together and yet she mashed up the two concepts here in a way that is deceptively simple and left me agog.  AND I was delighted to find out that there’s going to be another book coming out this very month about CATS! Yes!

This book is one of those where one poem spans the entire book, but what a poem it is.  The way Maria describes how dogs are mindful absolutely makes you want to be like a dog!  It’s almost a meditation in and of itself!  I’m not kidding.  Why has no one thought to mash these together before?

And the illustrations by Pete Oswald are just as perfect.  I’m used to his more cartoon-y style.  Seeing what looks like paper collage was a new approach that I found a wonderful addition to this book (or is it series?).  I will have to back up and share the first few pages before I get to one of my favorite bits so you understand what’s going on in this book, but trust me, you’ve GOT to check this one out.

Here’s the favorite bit:

Just FEEL your feelings!  I love that.  BRILLIANT!

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!