THINGS WE WEAR

A Children's Book Council "Hot Off the Press" Selection for November 2022!

We began our alphabet series with the action-packed THINGS WE DO, featuring kid-friendly verbs like CLAP (Joseph Bruchac), DANCE (Nikki Grimes), EAT (Jack Prelutsky), and FLY (Carole Boston Weatherford). The response to "Eat" byJack Prelutsky was so enthusiastic that we decided to devote a whole book to food with THINGS WE EAT, where we included many global staples such as RICE (Jacqueline Woodson). We then explored our emotions in THINGS WE FEEL, honoring our wide range of emotions, even our WORRIED (Naomi Shihab Nye) times. We're now ready to help kids celebrate another favorite topic: clothes and other THINGS WE WEAR, with gems by Douglas Florian, Padma Venkatraman, and 24 additional voices.

In this book, we wear not just clothes — but aprons, boots, costumes, dresses, earmuffs, flip-flops, glasses, helmets, ice skates, jeans, kippahs, life jackets, masks, necklaces, overalls, pajamas, quilts, raincoats, saris, t-shirts, uniforms, visors, watches, x-ray aprons, yukata, and zippers! Readers (and preschool "book-lookers") will see themselves very clearly in the wide variety of children and activities depicted in these diverse and inclusive photos.

The poets featured in this book are: Robyn Hood Black, Willeena Booker, Sandy Brehl, Judy Bryan, Rose Cappelli, Janet Clare Fagal, Karen Elise Finch, Patricia J. Franz, Theresa Gaughan, Xelena González, Katey Howes, Molly Lorenz, Amy Milholland, Moe Phillips, Donna JT Smith, Holly Thompson, Linda Kulp Trout, Fernanda Valentino, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Padma Venkatraman, Jenna Waldman, Vicki Wilke, Matthew Winter, Janet Wong, and Helen Kemp Zax.

As with other books in this alphabet series (THINGS WE DO; THINGS WE EAT; THINGS WE FEEL), 100% of the profits will be donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund.

About the Authors:
Sylvia M. Vardell recently retired as Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University where she taught graduate courses in children’s and young adult literature for more than 20 years. Vardell has published extensively, including five books on literature for children as well as over 25 book chapters and 100 journal articles. In 2020, she curated the anthology A World Full of Poems: Inspiring Poetry for Children. She also loves cosplay and has several Star Wars costumes she made herself.

Janet Wong is a graduate of Yale Law School and a former lawyer. She has written more than 35 books for children on a wide variety of subjects, including chess (Alex and the Wednesday Chess Club) and yoga (TWIST: Yoga Poems). She is the 2021 winner of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, a lifetime achievement award that is one of the highest honors a children's poet can receive. A few years ago, Janet gathered her son's old T-shirts and had them made into a quilt that reminds her of his many childhood activities, including chess club.

Together, Vardell & Wong are the creative forces behind Pomelo Books.