What the heart knows Chants, charms & blessings

Review by Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Newbery Honor winner Sidman and Caldecott Honor winner Zagarenski once again join together to create a beautiful and meaningful book. Sidman tells readers in her introduction that chanting, blessing, lamenting, and cursing are as old as human history. Her poetic offerings will touch today's readers, whose feelings and fears are remarkably similar to those of our ancestors. This slim volume is divided into four parts: Chants and Charms ( to bolster courage and guard against evil ) uses repetition in both a chant about repairing a friendship and a charm against the dark. Spells and Invocations ( to cause something to happen ) ranges from the practical finding lost items to the improbable asking time to speed up or slow down. The sadder Laments and Remembrances ( to remember, regret, or grieve ) brings readers close to the bone with ruminations about illness, death, and loss. Praise Songs and Blessings ( to celebrate, thank, or express love ) ends the book on a high note. And while not every celebration might seem of the highest order for instance, Blessing on the Curl of a Cat the words make you see things differently. If pictures can be poetic, then Zagarenski's surely are. Her signature stylized mixed-media pictures can be intricately designed, but some are spare: a teddy bear and a crown hugging the bottom of a tall page. An evocative book that pulls readers to a special place their hearts.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

"I wrote these poems for comfort, for understanding, for hope," writes Sidman in introduction to a grouping of nearly 50 poems. "They are words to speak in the face of loneliness, fear, delight, or confusion." Sidman gathers her verse into four sections-Chants & Charms, Spells & Incantations, Laments & Remembrances, and Praise Songs & Blessings-while Zagarenski contributes brightly painted and emotionally evocative mixed-media artwork filled with the crowned figures, teapots, wheels, and lions that frequent her work. The subject matter ranges from the quotidian to the unfathomable: "We bow to your littleness,/ pencils, glasses, keys./ Without you we are lost," reads "Invitation to Lost Things," while "When Death Comes" is a devastating meditation on its irrevocability ("Even when you know/ it's coming,/ it arrives/ out of nowhere:/ so quick/, so uncalled for"). Poems of bravery, love, heartbreak, justice, and peace unite to offer readers of all ages solace, inspiration, and strength. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-In their latest collaboration, Sidman and Zagarenski invite readers to ponder the power of words. Arranged in four sections, 29 brief poems include chants and charms; spells and invocations; laments and remembrances; and praise songs and blessings. By turns hopeful and comedic, melancholic and wistful, they touch on universal themes: lost love, the uneasiness of change, and the comfort of pets. Many kids will relate to the nostalgia and regret for the packed-away toy in "Lament for Teddy": "Where is that softest of bedfellows,/whose battered nose hung askew?" Other highlights include "Chant to Repair a Friendship," "Invitation to Lost Things," and "Heartless." Zagarenski's mixed-media paintings underscore Sidman's words, sometimes with subtle use of white space and muted color. Others burst from the page in spectacular fashion, especially the painting of stony-faced lions that accompanies "Song of Bravery" and its stirring conclusion: ".here I go, stepping out/through the door/of my own shadow:/into the glare of the arena/to face the lions." Poetry fans will savor the wordplay and whimsy, as teachers appreciate both its craft and wide appeal. This spectacular volume rewards careful reading and capably attests to the power of words to praise and comfort, heal and inspire, as in the rousing "Starting Now": "It is time to.speak until the air/holds all of our voices./Time to weave for each other/a garment of brightness."-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Sidman and Zagarenski present "Chants Charms," "Spells Invocations," "Laments Remembrances," and "Praise Songs Blessings" for a variety of occasions and in a variety of poetic forms. Each section begins by briefly defining the terms ("Charm: A verse spoken aloud that acts as a talisman or protection"), then continues with Sidman's emotional (and sometimes quite funny) poems that reflect her faith in the power of words to comfort, to praise, and to celebrate. Each poem speaks directly from Sidman's heart to the reader's, addressing subjects of deep importance: forgiveness in order to repair a friendship, bravery, death, illness, moving to a new place, and even "Blessing on the Smell of Dog." It is easy to imagine young poets embracing one of these pieces and writing one in the same style or addressing the same emotional terrain. Zagarenski's illustrations beautifully extend the poems with her dreamy style and deft use of white space, symbolism, and images from Sidman's text. These mixed-media paintings are not merely decorative, they connect to the emotion of each poem. robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Profound, lushly illustrated poems explore some of life's more trying moments. In their third collaboration, Sidman and Zagarenski (Red Sings from the Treetops: A Year in Colors, 2009, etc.) combine their Newbery Honor and Caldecott Honorworthy talents to tackle life's more ineffable conditions. Lyrically arranging the collection's 29 poems into groupings such as "Chants Charms" and "Laments Remembrances," Sidman takes a serious look at a number of moments likely to concern young teens. The volume's title bespeaks the tricky blend of rationality and emotion inherent in often baffling situations like aging, loss, and loneliness, and Sidman employs deftly sophisticated verse to engage them head on. Especially provocative is her direct address of a subject like happiness-- "Happiness, you're like a breeze / sucked in by eager lungs. / You fill and feed us, / and yet somehow, in the exhale, / you are shared"--coupled with Zagarenski's richly layered, slightly surreal depiction of a figure trying to catch this transitory state. In many spreads, the abstract suggestiveness of Zagarenski's fanciful mixed-media paintings and digital renderings contrasts wonderfully with Sidman's bold metaphors, as in "Blessing from the Stars": "We are the stars. / We sing with our light / / alone, / together." A winning combination of word and image sure to challenge young readers both to contemplate big subjects and to act. (Poetry. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Chant to Repair a Friendship (a triolet) Come, friend, forgive the past; I was wronga dn I am grieving. Tell me that this break won't last-- take my hand; forgive the past. Anger's brief, but love is vast. Take my hand; don't think of leaving. Come, friend, forgive the past; I was wrong and I am grieving. Come, Happiness Happiness, you're not what everyone says: some flashy friend who shows up with fireworks, trailing fame and glory. You are more like a raindrop, governed by mysterious principles. You fall from the sky and hit-- plop!-- with a cool kiss of surprise. Or maybe you're a heartbeat, always there, speaking in your low, soft voice, pumping, warming, strengthening under the surface of things, just doing your work. Happiness, you're like a breeze sucked in by eager lungs. You fill and feed us, and yet somehow, in the exhale, you are shared. So come, come to us, Happiness. Bathe us with your cool spray. Fill us with your splendid breath. Help us do your work. Chant Against the Dark Don't come close, dark. Don't brush my face with your sticky hands. Stay as cool and distant as a train whistle. Don't single me out, don't make me answer your questions. Let me curl here, safe in my circle of light. Don't come close, dark. Don't speak to me in your crooked tongue. I don't want to hear your stories. I have stories of my own to tell myself all night. Don't come close, dark. Don't breathe on me. When the lamp clicks off, don't creak and shift like some wild-eyed horse waiting for its rider. Oh, dark, don't call my name. Song of Bravery This one's not a sure thing. I'm not bound to win. I don't think I'll ace it this time. I won't break a leg, make my own luck, or reach the stars. The sun is not shining on me today. The force is not strong. Before the day is out, I'll taste the grit of dust. Maybe I didn't do all I could. Or maybe I did but there were others who did more. Maybe I'll never know. But here I go-- bones clicking quietly together, blood flowing dutifully from heart to hands and back again-- here I go, stepping out through the door of my own shadow: into the glare of the arena to face the lions. Excerpted from What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms, and Blessings by Joyce Sidman All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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