Out of Wonder by Kwame Alexander

Alexander, K. with Colderley,C. and Wentworth, M. (2017). Out of Wonder. Ill by Ekua Holmes: Somerville, MA.
This beautifully written collection of poetry is written as a tribute to poets of the past by Alexander, Colderly, and Wentworth.  Kwame states that he was inspired by 20 of his favorite poets to create this piece of art.  Each of the poets "celebrates" and uses "styles and rhythms" to write their version of the poetry.  There are three section in this book that exhibit love, growth, feelings, nature, music, songs, and life experiences to tell poetry.  Part I:  GOT STYLE is a "celebration" of arrangement and repetition.  Part II: IN YOUR SHOES is all about how the poetry makes you feel.   The author explains that they used laughter and joy to create these poems.  And finally, Part III: THANK YOU is about how the poetry speaks to you and "sharing".
One of my favorite parts of the book was reading the short Bio's of the authors and tributes with names and timelines for the poets referenced and featured by the authors. It was inspiring how the works were divided equally by the authors using three different expressive views of favorite poems.  The beauty of the imagery shows diversity and how children can read the poems and see themselves in the pieces.  I loved how Kwame wrote about his family and a quote from Lucille Clifton "Poems come out of wonder, not out of knowing to show his inspiration" to show his inspiration for this work.  Other exceptional books by Kwame Alexander are Solo and He Said, She Said.