Amazing Faces [Hardcover]

Lee Bennett Hopkins (Compiler), Chris Soentpiet (Illustrator), Joseph Bruchac (Contributor), Nikki Grimes (Contributor), Jane Yolen (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2010 | Age Range: 7 and up

Amazing, your face.
Amazing.

Whatever we feel-whether happy or sad, excited or wishful, proud or lonely-our faces mirror our emotions. In this contemporary yet timeless collection, sixteen evocative poems are brought to life in diverse and detailed faces that reveal the universal feelings we all share. Girls and boys, women and men invite us to experience their world, understand their lives, and find the connections that bring us together.

Poet Lee Bennett Hopkins gathers these insightful works from an impressive array of authors, including Joseph Bruchac, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Nikki Grimes, Pat Mora, Carole Boston Weatherford, Janet S. Wong, Jane Yolen, and more. Glowing illustrations created by Chris Soentpiet infuse the verses with atmosphere and exquisite settings. Readers of all ages will want to feast their eyes on these captivating poems and pictures again and again.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—"You can read many things in her face," says Joseph Bruchac in describing Aunt Molly Sky, a venerable Native American storyteller. Aunt Molly is one of 16 people, varied in age and ethnicity, whose everyday lives are reflected in this picture-book anthology. Faces figure prominently in some poems as Hopkins and Soentpiet celebrate America's diversity. "Amazing Face" belongs to a chortling Asian baby who is addressed by a blond mother, and the concluding poem, Langston Hughes's "My People," is paired with a multiracial crowd waving flags in a city fireworks scene. Some of the voices and warm watercolor portraits are necessarily specific—Chinatown's child who lives "above Good Fortune/where they catch crabs fresh" or "Latina, abuela, she is everyone/of us come from otherwhere." Some experiences—dreams, loneliness, the heroism of a returning soldier or a smoke-smudged firefighter—are universal. Varied in shape, each poem is set on an ivory half-page next to a broad scene—sometimes a single child, other times a small group or an energetic crowd. This appealing package of poetry and ideas will be enjoyed by children, parents, and teachers. There are many bits to savor, and the underlying theme is so well executed that it could easily stimulate interest in finding more people in poems.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Illustrated with large, handsome watercolor portraits, the 16 poems in this anthology celebrate the rich diversity of American kids—what makes each one special and the connections between them. Most poems are original to this collection, except for the final, “My People,” by Langston Hughes, which is paired with a close-up view of a huge crowd of parents and kids of many backgrounds that also appears on the cover. A sad kid is not accepted by the in-crowd in Jude Mandell's “I'm the One.” In contrast, Pat Mora's poem features a Latino boy who finds bliss in solitude (“I like to count the stars”). Jane Medina's “Me x 2” includes Spanish translation of the lines and shows the riches of bilingualism: “I do twice as much.” And Jane Yolen's “Karate Kid” is a fun read-aloud (“Chop / Kick / Peace / Power”) and features a dynamic portrait of a girl in action. A great collection for sharing at home and in the classroom. Grades 2-5. --Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books; 1 edition (June 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600603343
• ISBN-13: 978-1600603341
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SImply Amazing! June 11, 2010

By Bon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I originally bought this book for a teacher as an end of the year gift. She LOVED it!!! I just bought a copy for my family. The book is stunningly illustrated and each poem somehow stands out and flows seamlessly together. There are selections from the famous and the not-yet-famous. I was especially struck by the poem by Mary E. Cronin: Firefighter's Face...I felt the the heat and exhaustion of that firefighter. Great book! Great Gift! It is a keeper. I give it 5 stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Pictures and Poems August 9, 2010

By Susan Quinn

Format:Hardcover

I met Jude Mandell - author, poet, teacher, singer - peeking from behind her book Amazing Faces at a conference booksale. And I say her book, even though Amazing Faces is a collection of poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, and only one poem is Mandell's - but her fervor for the book was impressive.

Jude's poem is typical of the wonderfully emotional poems that fill this beautiful book.

I'm the one
You heard crying,
Walking home
From school
Today.

In simple but powerful language and life-like illustrations, Amazing Faces captures children's faces and the emotions they wear on them as they play, pout, laugh, and sleep. The 16 poems come from esteemed children's writers such as Jane Yolen and amazing poets like Langston Hughes.

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

There is power in those words! Chris Soentpiet's illustrations leap off the page, whether the tight-fisted karate kicker or the boyish-faced young soldier returning home. My favorite is the Good Fortune Seafood Market, filled with a busyness of fish in baskets and red paper lanterns, and where Janet S. Wong writes about living "around the corner from Heaven's Supermarket, where all lines are cash only."

Delightful.

Lee and Low is a small publisher that focuses on "stories that children of color can identify with and that all children can enjoy." Amazing faces certainly meets that charter and moves hearts as well. I think art draws all levels of readers into books, and poetry can be particularly demanding on readers, and thus ideally suited for advanced readers. I heartily recommend Amazing Faces to move hearts of all ages.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children May 29, 2010

By Yana V. Rodgers

Format:Hardcover

Just as everyone has a story to tell, every person's face portrays a unique blend of feelings, history, and background. This new anthology presents children with 16 poems by an acclaimed group of poets and authors, each expressing a compelling set of circumstances and emotions. Illustrator Chris Soentpiet has applied his distinctive style to the accompanying paintings, all of which portray people across diverse age groups and racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Several of the poems and illustrations convey an economic setting or story, including a young child who sits with his mother while she works as a seamstress in Chinatown, a bilingual girl who is pleased to be able to read both the Spanish and English parts of a Mexican restaurant's menu, and a tired firefighter who labors on to put out the flames. It can be a nice change of pace to introduce children to economic themes using poetry and art, and this anthology certainly fits the bill.