NPM 2024 Day 3: RECESS IN THE DARK

Today’s poetry picture book drew me in because it immediately hit me as close to home.

RECESS IN THE DARK is a poetry picture book I stumbled across by a Canadian press because of an upcoming Simply 7 interview.  The premise is one I instantly recognized as an Alaskan.  What is it like to have recess when it’s bitter cold and very dark?  There are parts of Alaska and Canada that are dark every minute of every single day and yes, children live there and go to school.  Can you even imagine it?  I can!

In the deep parts of winter, I drive to work in the dark and leave in the dark.  We get a tiny window of light in the middle of the day here in Anchorage though, so our kiddos don’t play in the dark.  BUT it wasn’t a stretch of my imagination to embrace the concept of this book. And I loved the illustrations by Erin Mercer.  I thought they really captured the fun of play, no matter the circumstances.  Kalli Dakos throws in fun little sidebars of information as well.  I share one of my favorite poems in the book, with a closeup of the poem for reading first, then the full spread as it appears in the open book.

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!