Dear Acorn (Love, Oak): Letter Poems to Friends
by Joyce Sidman; illus. by Melissa Sweet
Primary    Clarion/HarperCollins    40 pp.
9/25    9780358334767    $19.99

In eight pairs of poems, Sidman creates dialogues between two subjects, some in nature (cloud and droplets), some human-made elements (button and coat). For example, in the first poem, an oak addresses an acorn: “I feel you there / a tickle at my twig tips.” The tree forecasts: “The next stop is earth. / Then years upon years / until you see this sky / this high / again.” Acorn responds with an acorn-shaped concrete poem: “I know I must drop and sleep and / sprout and grow. So slow!” The first-person voice in each poem is strong, offering an invitation, an homage, or a vivid self-portrait. The connections and contrasts between the two entities in each poem pair are appealing and compelling; readers may even glean metaphorical meanings about the connections between all things. The poems are full of musical alliteration, vivid sensory imagery, and clever perspectives; some rhyme, but many are in free verse. Sweet’s colorful, textured mixed-media collage art enhances these inventive pieces. Each individual poem appears on a double-page spread with layers of images tied to the work’s meaning, and her palette moves from vibrant pink to intense turquoise to buttery yellow, with swirls of circles, cut-out blocks, and apparently hand-drawn letters all blending dramatically together. A note on “Writing Letter Poems” offers helpful steps for young readers.

From the September/October 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.