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Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Water Hole Hardcover – Illustrated, August 1, 2014

by Irene Latham (Author), Anna Wadham (Illustrator)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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Welcome wildebeest / and beetle, / Oxpecker and lion. / This water hole is yours. / It offers you oasis / beside its shrinking shores.

Spend a day at a water hole on the African grasslands. From dawn to nightfall, animals come and go. Giraffes gulp, wildebeest graze, impalas leap, vultures squabble, and elephants wallow. Fact sidebars support the poems about the animals and their environment. Imaginative illustrations from Anna Wadham complete this delightful collection.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Reading age
    8 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    32 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 6
  5. Lexile measure
    NP
  6. Dimensions
    10 x 0.31 x 10 inches
  7. Publisher
    Millbrook Press ™
  8. Publication date
    August 1, 2014
  9. ISBN-10
    1467712329
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1467712323
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Latham's finely crafted verse, at once humorous and serious, dazzlingly opens the imagination to the wilds of the world. Enlightening and engaging, a thrilling panorama of the diversity to be found throughout the animal kingdom." ―starred, Kirkus Reviews



"This will be a much-sought-after book for teaching reading and inquiry skills.... A strong choice." ―starred, School Library Journal



"[F]un, descriptive poems about intriguing animals...presented in an entertaining, light manner with playful illustrations."―Library Media Connection



"Fifteen poems capture the denizens of the African water hole, from impalas and elephants to oxpecker birds and dung beetles. Entries vary between rhymed and unrhymed, but all are compact, rhythmic, and short-lined, with frequent tasty soundplay ('white tackles/ in a rugby tangle') that will enhance readaloud pleasure." ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books



"A fine volume of verse for independent reading or sharing with a class." ―Booklist



"An assured and often amusing grouping of verse that informs as it entertains." ―Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Irene Latham is the author of more than a dozen current and forthcoming works of poetry, fiction, and picture books, including Charlotte Huck Honor Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship (co-written with Charles Waters) and the Caldecott Honor Book The Cat Man of Aleppo(co-written by Karim Shamsi-Basha). Winner of the 2016 ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, she became obsessed with octopuses after reading The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. Just like Agnes, she enjoys sending―and receiving―postcards. Visit her at www.irenelatham.com.

Anna Wadham is the illustrator of several picture books and has an MA in children's book illustration. She lives in Norwich, England, where she enjoys the rooftop views from her flat and the city cafes.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Millbrook Press ™; Illustrated edition (August 1, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1467712329
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1467712323
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ NP
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 6
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10 x 0.31 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 11 ratings

About the author

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Irene Latham

Irene Latham

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Irene Latham lives on a lake in rural Alabama. Winner of the 2016 ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, she is the author of hundreds of poems and nearly twenty current and forthcoming poetry, fiction and picture books from publishers including Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Lerner, Charlesbridge, Boyd Mills/Kane, Candlewick, and others. Her books have been recognized on state lists and honored by NEA, ALA, NCTE, SIBA, Bank Street College and other organizations.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
11 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeannine Atkins
5.0 out of 5 stars A Wild Journey in a Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
These poems carried me -- with both gallops and sips -- to a place I never thought I could know so well, and came to love. An extraordinary blend of nonfiction material and artful language.
2 people found this helpful
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Mary Lavers (in Canada)
5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking! I love it as a parent, as a teacher, as a poet, as a reader, and as an animal lover!
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2014
Huzzah! I enjoyed this book so much that I have to gather my thoughts first before I just start gushing about it. In fact, I'll have to abridge my original review because I did gush a little too much (but you can read it all on my blog, Cozy Little Book Journal, if you're interested).

Talk about a great book! The illustrations are rich, folksy and painterly, and the poetry is good. I mean really, really good. I've been a poet my whole life and an educator for half of it, so I've read, heard and written a lot of poetry, including a lot of poems for children. By no means does that make me an expert on good poetry, but in some ways I feel like an expert on bad poetry. I've encountered a lot of bad poetry. Oh lord yes. And a shocking amount of it finds its way into children's books.

Irene Latham, however, is a poet's poet. Her book is full of poetry that isn't just a collection of rhyming words about animals intended to make children laugh. It's full of evocative language, arresting imagery, and natural rhythm that informs the reader of both the intention of the piece and how it's meant to be read. One of my favourites was "Triptych for a Thirsty Giraffe" (a triptych! she did a freaking triptych! I love this woman so very, very much). Here's a sample:

I. Craving

Leaves turn
to dust,
mouth cottons,

tongue
becomes
swollen log.

Must find water.

The second and third parts of the triptych--"Caution" and "Courage"--continue with the form and style of the first, with "Caution" ending with the words: Must be safe.

She concludes with this:

III. Courage

Long legs contort,
widen into triangles.

Step by step by step
until, yes!

Tongue whirlpools water
into mouth.

Must not stop.

Swoon. I can't even. I love it so, so much.

Oh, and in addition to the poetry and illustrations, each page also has a little information box that explains a bit about what you've just read: animal facts, more about the African savanna, etc. It's informative--I learned a lot, and Magda said that some of it reminded her of things she'd seen in a documentary--but not so long as to break the flow of the book. In other words, it's just perfect. Plus, it made Magda want to watch even more animal documentaries afterwards, to find out more about the things we had learned. (My four-year-old is now the neighbourhood's leading expert on the awesomeness of vultures.)

If my local library doesn't have this on order already, I'll definitely be recommending it for purchase. I am indeed a fan!
3 people found this helpful
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Rob Natiuk
5.0 out of 5 stars From the cover to the end, this beautiful book makes my "inner animal" leap and tremble.
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2015
The cover with that subdued artwork is poetic in itself, capturing my meditative, nature-loving mood. Even the poem titles are bits of poesie -- "To All Beasts Who Enter Here," "Lifestyles of the Sleek and Sinuous," "Triptych for a Thirsty Giraffe." Poetry well-written has the power to capture the moment, sometimes tiny, sometimes large, in the quick flicks of life and death. Such as at a savanna water hole -- "...oxpecker and lion. This water hole is yours."

The paintings are not totally realistic but they are better than that -- they capture the emotion, the moment and life in a spot of time and place. "Discover this vital place where earth and sky convene." The small boxes of facts about the animals at the waterhole, their inter-relationships with each other, deepen this "circle of life" blend of word and color. Also, the poetic forms are varied, all the way from one-two word lines to longer. The rhymes are natural and rhythmic, thus capture the flow of life at the water hole. Also this poet yields herself to humor as she juxtaposes the animal world with man's world. "Ticks got you dancing in an ear-flapping way? Try our Basic Tick Removal Plan today." That's from her poem "Oxpecker Cleaning Service -- Specializing in Large Beasts."

To me the words of a poem become part of the page or picture. Unfortunately in Kindle format, I had to keep clicking in order to enlarge two or three lines at a time so they are readable. Otherwise, they were too small to read on my Kindle. Still, it was worth it, and when I read the lines aloud (as poetry should be read), it all worked so well together. So be patient, as I had to, to learn how to read these pages. These poems are worth one's time and effort.
2 people found this helpful
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J Corrigan
4.0 out of 5 stars Poetic book that will take your kid to the watering hole of the savanna.
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2015
This poetry book will take your kid on a trip to the savanna to experience all of the different animals that must frequent the watering hole. Each poem is accompanied by a factual paragraph on that animal. Although this book may appear to be a regular children's book please be aware that the reading age for this book is actually 8-12 years old. The vocabulary and comprehension is far greater than the colorful cover may lead you to believe. Overall, it's a great collection of poems surrounding a singular location that is nicely illustrated. ~The Librarian Uncle
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