If I Could Choose a Best Day: Poems of Possibility

Gr 2-5–This sparkling collection of 30 short poems urges readers to look closely, listen carefully, and ponder connections to the world around us. Joseph Bruchac’s “If We Listen” advises that by listening to the birds and “the bright life/ all around,” readers may find their “own hymn.” Eric Ode’s “If You Have a Pencil” muses that a pencil leads to a poem, a story, adventurous play amid a tower of cardboard boxes, and concludes that when paired with a smile, “you just might make a friend.” The poems stress connections with friends and loved ones, and the powerful possibilities within us. Lacresha Berry’s “If I Imagine Sunlight Made Me” delivers a powerful message of self-affirmation in just 11 lines of free verse. Well-crafted mixed media illustrations add to the mood and layers of meaning.