Words with Wings and Magic Things

Name: Words with Wings and Magic Things
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: Matthew Burgess
ISBN: 9781774888247

Author: Matthew Burgess

Narrator: Matthew Burgess

Unabridged: 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tundra Books

Published: 03/18/2025

Categories: Children's Fiction, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

THREE STARRED REVIEWS! • From award-winning author Matthew Burgess and Caldecott medalist Doug Salati comes a spellbinding collection of poems for young readers that celebrates the power of words to awaken the imagination and alchemize the everyday. A gorgeous gift book for fans of Shel Silverstein with seven die-cut spreads throughout.

Beyond the doorway of the first page of this collection awaits a dragon piñata, an alligator on the A train, a hungry yeti, an ice cream dream, jetpack sneakers, midnight firelight, a gray day, a plump tomato, a serious question and so much more. Whether you're feeling blue, lemon yellow or Day-Glo green, this inviting and magical book of poems takes young readers on an uplifting journey through everyday moments, moods and experiences, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. With enchanting illustrations throughout and seven die-cut portals that open into the realms of Welcome, Wonder, Wild, Weee!, Whoops & Wallops, Windows and Whispers & Well Wishes, Words With Wings and Magic Things explores how words can awaken us to a world of wonder and possibility. Step inside . . . and take flight!

About The Author

MATTHEW BURGESS is a poet, educator and the author of many picture books, including Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings, Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring and The Bear and the Moon. His books have received starred reviews, a Eureka! Gold Award for Excellence in Nonfiction and been featured on best-of lists from the New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist and Amazon. Matthew is a professor of literature and creative writing at Brooklyn College, and for over twenty years, he has led poetry programs in New York City public schools, sharing his love of words with thousands of kids. Always on the lookout for magic, Matthew lives in Brooklyn and Berlin.DOUG SALATI is the author and illustrator of Hot Dog, winner of the 2023 Caldecott Medal and the 2023 Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award, and named one of the best books of the year by Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews and the New York Public Library. The first book he illustrated was In a Small Kingdom by Tomie dePaola, and the second, Lawrence in the Fall by Matthew Farina, was a 2020 Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award honoree. A 2015 Sendak Fellow, Doug lives and works in New York City.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ashley on March 15, 2025

(3.75 rounded up) Cute, wholesome and endearing. Reminds me a great deal of Shel Silverstein’s poetry books I adored as a kid.......more

Goodreads review by shesellsseashells on March 16, 2025

This collection manages to feel both classic and very new. It reminds me of my favourite childhood poetry collections from the 90s but it’s so much more progressive and inclusive, which is lovely. The artwork truly is the star of this collection. It’s just outstanding and elevates a lot of what I fel......more

Goodreads review by Robin on February 09, 2025

I got WORDS WITH WINGS AND MAGIC THINGS for my 8yo niece and it was a huge hit. We read it together over several nights and giggled all the way through. Matthew Burgess offers up silly, imaginative, joyful poems with a just-right-amount of thoughtfulness and feeling. There’s a sense of wonder and aw......more

Goodreads review by Alexa on April 18, 2025

Lovely poetry. Some funny, some thoughtful, some fanciful--lots that are all 3 at once! I love the illustrations in between each section with a little peephole in between and two lines to give a general overview. All the sections are mildly whimsical, but when you read them, you get a sense they are......more

Goodreads review by Tim on April 23, 2025

I love the illustrator's illustrations in this book. Wish the poems were at par with the illustrations. IMHO, I didn't think the poems are very kid-oriented - they're kind of free-flowing and meandering, and the topics don't have as much kid appeal and could have used a lot more humor. Many poems jus......more