In The Land of Words by Eloise Greenfield

     "Maybe there's a place where words live, where our minds and hearts can go and find them when we want to write--or read" explains  National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Excellence in Poetry for Children Award winner Eloise Greenfield in her author's note at the beginning of her imaginative tribute to the written word, In the Land of Words. This beautifully eloquent piece is the perfect first spotlight for this new year.
     Greenfield's love of the written word is evident throughout this collection of twenty-one poems. From the lively first entry, "Nathaniel's Rap" (where my decades long love of old school rap and hip hop comes into play. I can completely  imagine in my mind the rhythmic vocals coming from a multitude of classic artists from KRS One to RunDMC who could bring their unique melodious flow to these animated verses)  to the expressive, quiet simplicity found in "Story" (my personal favorite entry that is found in Part II's In the Land).  Greenfield's cadence mirrors my own feelings towards the power that stories can bring over us:
                     "I step into the story,
                     I leave my world behind. 
                     I let the walls of story
                     Be the walls around my mind.
     
                      New faces and new voices.
                      I listen and I see,
                      and the people I have never met
                      mean everything to me."

    All of Greenfield's rhythmic patterns throughout this collection are playful and are aptly backed up by colorful, sensory loaded illustrations from Jan Spivey Gilchrist. 
     The lessons that you and your little ones will learn and carry with you from enjoying Greenfield's odes in this collection are undeniably invaluable---anyone--- big or small,  if you open your minds, eyes and hearts,  can can find the inspiration to write the many experiences that we discover from wherever life's journey takes us.


In The Land of Words- New and Selected Poems
Written by Eloise Greenfield & Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Publisher:  Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Published in 2004
Website: www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Retails for $6.99 (Softcover)
ISBN: 978-0-06-443692-2
Accelerated Reader Book Level: 3.8
Accelerated Reader Quiz Points: 0.5
For ages: 4 to 8