Earth Magic - Hardcover

Acclaimed poet and novelist Dionne Brand was born in Trinidad and moved to Canada in the early 1970s. Her work has won both the Governor General's Award for Poetry and the Trillium Award for Literature. Originally published in 1979, Earth Magic was her first book of poetry for children.

Eugenie Fernandes is an award-winning picture book author and illustrator. Her many works include the Little Mouse series, Earth Magic, One Hen and Kitten's Spring. She lives in southern Ontario.

Gr. 4-7. Well known in Canada for her adult poetry, Brand celebrates Trinidad, her birthplace, in her debut collection for youth. The rhythmic selections, seemingly narrated by a girl, are filled with a child's view of island life, and the natural world appears as characters capable of powerful action. The struggles of work are clear: "Maybe I'll go to school / when the crop is in," read lines from "11 Years Old." But just as clear are the child's strong, ambitious hopes, which pop up in "Skipping Rope Song": "I wanna be great / a hot shot lawyer, / a famous dancer, / a tough operator." Fernandes' striking, acrylic collage artwork beautifully extends the moods and metaphors in vibrantly colored scenes that amplify the sense of mysticism while reinforcing the poems' concrete images. Pair these fine selections with Monica Gunning's poetry titles about Caribbean life, including Not a Copper Penny in Me House (1993). Gillian Engberg
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