Poetry Friday: This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort

                                                                      Head over to Life on the Deckle Edge

for this week's roundup of poetry love.  
Thanks for hosting, Robyn!

I can't think about 9-11 without remembering Georgia Heard's anthology This Place I Know:  Poems of Comfort.  I discovered this book several years ago while pulling books for our month of poetry in my classroom.  In a School Library Journal review, Sally Dow sums up the impact of this book with these words, "In memory of the September 11th tragedy, this book was compiled initially to offer hope and comfort to children who witnessed the event firsthand, but has far broader application, speaking to all people, young and old, who suffer trauma."

You can get a flavor of the book through this preview at Google books, see the poems that are included, view some of the poetry and artwork, and read the note from Georgia Heard that accompanies the book.  Deborah Chandra's poem, "Stars" is included in the preview and concludes with these lines:

". . . But shining through the dark they calmly stayed,

And gently held me in their quiet way.

I felt them watching over me, each one -

And let me cry and cry till I was done."

Well-known children's book illustrators responded to an appeal from Candlewick Press and volunteered their talents to illustrate the poems.  If you've never explored this book of poetry, treat yourself to this gem of a book filled with poems of comfort and beautiful illustrations.