Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems Hardcover – March 11, 2014

I knew this would be special because we love Melissa Sweet's illustrations. Janeczko's selections were also amazing and as expected Sweet's illustrations made this anthology so rich and beautiful. We checked this book out of the library. My 10-year-old and 7-year-old daughters both loved it but so did my husband, mother, and I. After the 3rd time I read it, I decided we could not give this book up so we purchased it! Many of the poets we were familiar with but I was really, really excited to be introduced to Ted Kooser! Amazing!My favorite poem was by Joyce Sidman although that is no surprise given that she is one of my favorite poets. In her poem entitled "Happy Meeting" rain hits dust creates "cinnamon kisses."This book is just too beautiful to pass up!

My daughter just turned six and in my interest in introducing poetry to her has encouraged me to have a wide range of books of poetry for her (from Shel Silverstein to classic anthologies of children's poetry to Caroline Kennedy anthologies to children's collections of Emily Dickinson and others). Her attention flags quickly if the language or meaning is too obscure, or the poem too long without clear direction. This collection is neither. It contains a range of poets and the are well selected for a young audience (and an adult one). They offer a good opportunity to consider meaning and introduce some new language, but are still accessible. Recommend!

Thirty-six poems, clustered into groups according to season, and delightfully illustrated by Melissa Sweet... This one's a year-round delight! Making this collection even better is the fact that, as the title says, these poems are indeed very short, perfect for introducing children to poetry and its wordplay without requiring them to endure something long and potentially hard to follow.

This is a beautiful book of poetry for children. I taught kindergarten for many years and read a different poem each day to the children. I wish I had had this book when I was teaching. The poems are from a broader spectrum of poets than you usually find in children's books. It was fun to find poems by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser. The illustrations are superb. They're colorful and imaginative.I bought this for my granddaughter and liked it so much that I bought a copy for myself.

My four year old is loving this book. Great for poetry tea time.

I love the beautiful poetry book! I collect lovely picture books, and this is one of my all-time favorites! Illustrations are exceptional too.

Very well done with both the poetry chosen and artwork. My one criticism is that I stumbled upon the full length Firefly July poem online (there's only one additional short verse) and wish it could have been added, especially since that poem's title named the whole compilation. It makes me wonder now what's missing from the other poems. Finding out, though, will be a great learning experience for me.

I love poetry and was excited with the premise of this children's book. I was underwhelmed with the selections that were made.

My 3 year old adores this book. She recites the poems and finds the book calming. Beautiful illustrations.