And now for something a little different!

There are thousands of picture books published every year and I cannot possibly read them all.  But I want to.  Yet, I have to restrain myself from time to time, as I’m also a classroom teacher, a volunteer for local writing events, AND a creative.  I have to take time for every single one of these and schedule them into my week.  It’s the way things work in my world, because (if I’m honest) I’m the type of person who likes to keep busy.  Yet, there is always an underlying FOMO (aka, Fear Of Missing Out).  That was certainly the case for me when today’s picture book first crossed my path.

RIVER OF DUST is a beautifully lyrical non-fiction picture book about dust.  That’s right, DUST.  The text is a mask poem that just sings across every page, along with the illustrations by Eugenia Mello that sweep the reader along.  It’s poetry and science unlike anything I’ve quite seen.  I certainly haven’t seen a picture book about this topic before, let alone this beautifully handled!  I heard the buzz all about it last year, but I didn’t have the time to fit it in.  You see, I had an emergency surgery last summer that took precedence so I missed it.  And FOMO ate away at me.

I reached out to Jilanne Hoffmann, the author, and asked if she might be interested in sharing her book on my blog.

Jilanne Hoffmann is the author of A River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon (Chronicle Books), which received a PW starred review, a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, and was listed as an ALA 2024 Notable Children’s book. She’s also the author of two board books for young explorers, Happy Camper (Amazon editor’s pick) and The Honey Bear Hive. Jilanne has a middle grade historical/contemporary novel in verse/prose forthcoming from Little Brown in Fall 2025. She also has an unannounced lyrical nonfiction picture book forthcoming in Spring 2026. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, son, and rescue dog. You can learn more about her here: https://linktr.ee/JilanneHoffmann.

However, at this point, she had already shared everything there was to say about the book.  If you want to know more, you can read about it at these other amazing interviews:

https://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2023/07/a-river-of-dust-life-giving-link.html

https://susannahill.com/2023/07/18/tuesday-debut-presenting-jilanne-hoffman/

https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2023/11/27/book-givdeaway-a-river-of-dust-by-jilanne-hoffmann/

https://www.mariacmarshall.com/single-post/the-picture-book-buzz-july-interview-with-steam-team-books-members-1

https://bethandersonwriter.com/2023/10/27/mining-for-heart-separation-and-connection-by-jilanne-hoffmann/

https://archimedesnotebook.blogspot.com/2023/07/everything-is-connected-sometimes-by.html

So, I gave up on my 7 questions and instead asked her the ONE vital question no one else had asked Jilanne before.  That’s why today you will see a ONE question interview and discuss of poetry picture books perfect for National Poetry Month all combined into one post.  Enjoy!

Me: There’s already a lot about your wonderful book out there in other interviews.  In order to give your book the spotlight it deserves on my blog, I want to ask you ONE more question: what is one thing about your book that you haven’t talked about yet that you wish readers would know?

Jilanne: Thanks for asking, Jena! Here’s something I can’t emphasize enough: Yes, A RIVER OF DUST is about science, but it’s also about so much more. Separation and connection, longing, and language. Matters of the heart!

Often when parents and educators browse the nonfiction section for picture books, they’re looking to teach kids about specific subject matter—geology, ecosystems, atmospheric science, the water cycle, etc. And they use other types of picture books to touch the heart, or to teach the elements of English Language Arts such as voice, word choice, active verbs, similes/metaphors, the sound of the language as you read it aloud, and the use of visual cues to fully understand a story.

Today’s lyrical nonfiction or informational narrative fiction can do all of this! Here’s an example, using my picture book, A RIVER OF DUST: The Life-giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon.

After reading the story, you can ask these questions:

• How did the story make them feel? Do they empathize with missing a family member or friend they haven’t seen in a long time? Do they worry that they’ll forget or be forgotten by the person who’s missing from their lives? How do they stay connected? How do they feel when they get to talk to or see that person again?
• What is the “voice” of this story? Who is the narrator? Is it in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person? How can you tell?
• How would you characterize the voice? Powerful or weak? Young or old? Caring or careless? Why do you think the author chose this voice? Is there any place in the story where Dust sounds vulnerable, or hopeful? Where it’s filled with longing? How can you tell?
• Who is Dust talking to? Who is the “you” in the story? How can you tell Dust misses the “you” they’re talking to?
• Make a list of the active verbs used throughout.
• How do they generate a sense of forward motion?
• Are poetic devices such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, consonance, metaphor/simile, or internal rhyme used in the story? Find examples. (A RIVER OF DUST is not written using end rhyme.) How do they make the story come alive?
• If you think of A RIVER OF DUST as a poem, what kind of poem is it? (A mask poem: where the author uses a point of view that is not their own.)

• What are the unusual words included in the story? If you don’t know the definition of a word, can you figure out the meaning from the narrative and visual context?
• Dust’s story is about connection, where two continents that were once one split apart and have been separated for millions of years. How does the opening image and final image support this part of the story? (The first image shows the literal splitting of two continents, but the final image is more subtle and achieves connection through the use of a visual metaphor. The final view is from high above, of two people rowing in a single kayak. The two have become one.)
• You can also discuss other visual elements that support the narrative.
  • In the illustrations, the people, animals, and dust are in motion, moving from left to right. Nothing that can move stays stationary. Even the grasses blow toward the right. The movement to the right encourages the reader to turn the page, to see where the dust is going next.
  • The opening and closing perspectives are shown as if they’re being viewed from high in the atmosphere, like from a satellite. This supports the science-based aspects of the text, because NASA recorded dust’s movement via satellite.
  • What things are shown in the illustration that are not specifically mentioned in the story? How does this support the narrative?

• Write a poem from the first person point of view of an inanimate object, for example, a pencil, a pencil sharpener, a rubber band, paper clip, or a glass window. How might their voices be different? Can you write the same poem in 3rd person? How do the two different choices of narrators bring the reader in close or feel more distant?
  • The first poem could be structured like this:
    • I am ______
    • I want ______
    • I love ______
    • I wish ______
    • I think _______
    • No one knows that I ________
    • When I sleep, I dream about ________

This kind of ELA extension activity encourages kids to spend more time with a science-based text, seeing how the story of science can enrich their lives with more than just information. This deep dive may help kids (and adults) find the HEART in science, perhaps nurturing budding scientists in the process.

MORE RESOURCES

Here are a few more lyrical nonfiction/informational fiction picture books that I recommend, and that can be used in a similar way. But there are sooo many more! I encourage you to seek them out and ask kids questions like those I’ve listed above, because you will be richly rewarded if you do!

• A STONE IS A STORY by Leslie Barnard Booth, illus. by Marc Martin
• I AM SMOKE by Henry Herz, illus. by Mercè López
• I AM GRAVITY by Henry Herz, illus. by Mercè López
• DEEP, DEEP DOWN by Lydia Lukidis, illus. by Juan Calle Velez
• FREAKY, FUNKY FISH (rhyming) by Debra Kempf Shumaker, illus. by Claire Powell
• GIANT SQUID by Candace Fleming, illus. by Eric Rohrmann

STEM-based Poetry

• ANIMALS IN SURPRISING SHADES (also teaches poetic forms) by Susan Johnston Taylor, illus. by Annie Bakst
• THE DIRT BOOK: Poems about animals that live beneath our feet, by David L. Harrison, illus. by Kate Cosgrove

Here is a website curated by Patricia Newman called LitLinks that connects ELA with STEM

This is so wonderful Jilanne.  Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today!

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!