Dear Acorn (Love, Oak): Letter Poems to Friends by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Dear Acorn (Love, Oak) has the characteristically stunning illustrations Melissa Sweet is known for and these pull the reader in right from the cover all the way through to the end. The illustrations are absolutely a standout aspect of this title. Dear Acorn (Love, Oak) is a book of poems about how everything is connected. I love this as a theme and think that it could fit into many units of study. Certainly, it would be a fantastic choice for a poetry unit or as part of a creative writing unit for a wide range of students. It also involves many items from the natural world (ex. Clouds, sea turtles, sky, etc.) that would make it a fun activity or assessment for a science or nature based unit. While it is a picture book, I think this could be a great poetry model for students who are elementary age all the way through high school. One of my favorite parts was that the poems are reciprocal: For example, first there’s a poem to acorn from oak, and then it flips and the next poem is to oak from acorn and so on through the different items. This could be a great activity with students (writing poems about objects and having a partner write a reciprocal poem). At the end, the author offers instructions and inspiration for readers to make their own letter poems, which makes it even more accessible to readers whether they have a teacher reading the book with them or they’re reading it independently. This would be a great choice for any collection — classroom, school, or public library — serving readers of all ages. The incredible illustrations, the engaging reciprocal nature of the poems, and the theme of connectedness made this a five-star read for me.

Reviewed by Katy Jones, Gardiner Area High School Library, Gardiner