What is home? Revel in the ineffable sense of belonging in anthologist Paul B. Janeczko’s diverse selection of poems with sure appeal for children. Home is shoes tucked under the bed while you sleep, or fancy-dancying at the neighborhood block party. It’s buttermilk biscuits and gospel music at the church picnic. It’s traffic lights and parked cars; rooftop views as far as you can see; ice cream trucks and yellow boots; sharing breakfast cereal and boiled eggs with your brothers; or running through sprinklers with water on your lips, dripping from eyelashes like fat raindrops. Whether we hang our hats in a walk-up apartment in the city, a farmhouse in the country, or any place in between, the poems in this collection celebrate the places where we live: our homes, our streets, our towns. Gathered by eminent poet and anthologist Paul B. Janeczko, these thirty-four inviting verses are paired with light-filled illustrations by Hyewon Yum evoking the warm details of daily life. Contributors include: Francisco X. Alarcón * Dave Crawley * Walter de la Mare * Rebecca Kai Dotlich * Eleanor Farjeon * Aileen Fisher * Betsy Franco * Charles Ghigna * Nikki Giovanni * Nikki Grimes * Avis Harley * Patricia Hubbell * Langston Hughes * Reuben Jackson * Paul B. Janeczko * X. J. Kennedy * Irene Latham * Lois Lenski * Myra Cohn Livingston * Wes Magee * Lilian Moore * Naomi Shihab Nye * Lin Oliver * Linda Sue Park * Iain Crichton Smith * Gary Soto * Amy Ludwig VanDerwater * Hope Vestergaard * Nicholas Virgilio * Charles Waters * Janet Wong * Valerie Worth * Charlotte Zolotow Gr 1–3—This posthumous compilation selected by distinguished anthologist Janeczko beautifully captures the essence of home; Yum's art enhances this, centering each poem firmly into diverse communities. Thirty-four poems are divided into three sections: Home, Street, and Town. The section titles seem arbitrary at first, although the delightful variance in styles and rhythms is exciting. For example, "Crickets," a concrete poem by Myra Cohn Livingston, appears in Home, as the crickets' hypnotic chirps through the night interrupt or sing one to sleep. "Ode to My Shoes" by Francisco X. Alarcón has shoes "fall asleep/ and dream/ of walking," in Street, relaxing so they're fresh for the new day. Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Linda Sue Park, Gary Soto, and Naomi Shihab Nye are a few of the authors included, each of their poems dazzling with literary devices, figurative language, and exquisite word choices. Yum's trademark colored pencil and watercolor illustrations are full spread. Graphic placement is well done, allowing Yum's art to cradle each piece. People and places are diverse in artistic expression, allowing readers to recognize themselves in different poems and increasing understanding for different situations. Janeczko selected poems about nature, safe spaces, siblings, shopping, pets, ice cream, transportation, and being the new kid: all the mundane, yet essential, things that remind people of what home is. VERDICT A first purchase for all libraries serving young children, this is an outstanding poetry compilation about the meaning of home.—Rachel Zuffa This posthumous compilation selected by distinguished anthologist Janeczko beautifully captures the essence of home; Yum’s art enhances this, centering each poem firmly into diverse communities. . . . People and places are diverse in artistic expression, allowing readers to recognize themselves in different poems . . . an outstanding poetry compilation about the meaning of home. —School Library Journal (starred review) A posthumous gathering of short poems on themes of home and neighborhood. . . . A luminous sendoff, rich in happy memories and sweet nostalgia. —Kirkus Reviews This collection of variously contemplative and playful poems offers an intimate picture of daily life from a child’s point of view. . . offers a mix of poetic styles—all very accessible to the young reader and listener and all unified by Yum’s engaging illustrations in colored pencil and watercolor. Timeless scenes ranging from urban apartment life to small-town backyards and front porches are full of a pleasing diversity of children and adults. —The Horn Book The poems here are previously published pieces that, when read all together, confer a nostalgic, laid-back tone. . . a cohesive, teachable collection about different kinds of communities. —Booklist A sights-and-sounds anthology that invites readers to observe the appreciable beauty of, as phrased by X.J. Kennedy, 'wherever you sit down.' —Publishers Weekly This collection of variously contemplative and playful poems offers an intimate picture of daily life from a child’s point of view. . . the collection offers a mix of poetic styles—all very accessible to the young reader and listener and all unified by Yum’s engaging illustrations in colored pencil and watercolor. —The Horn Book Thirty-three poets lend their voices to this anthology, including Nikki Giovanni,