KYLE LUKOFF has worked at the intersection of books and people for more than half his life, first as a bookseller and later as a school librarian, reviewer, awards juror and contributor to professional publications. His first picture book, A Storytelling of Ravens, illustrated by Natalie Nelson, received two starred reviews and his second, When Aidan Became a Brother was described as “joyful and affirming” in a Kirkus starred review and has received three other starred reviews. A confirmed bachelor, Kyle lives in a Brooklyn apartment filled with books. MARK HOFFMANN is an author and illustrator of children’s books, an editorial illustrator and an artist who has won a number of awards. He also teaches illustration at Montserrat College of Art. Mark’s picture books include Fruit Bowl (Publishers Weekly starred review), You Can Read by Helaine Becker, Hawks Kettle, Puffins Keel by Susan Vande Griek, Poop by Poppy Campignon and Dirt Cheap. He lives in southern New Hampshire with his family, two cats and a dog.
Liberal use of terms such as epithalmium and enjambment, both defined at book's end, will draw precocious kids as well as adult poetry lovers to this friendly introduction to poetry and poetics. * Publisher's Weekly * Hoffmann's playfully expressive double-page illustrations... heighten Lukoff's guffaws... Lukoff's sophisticated silliness hits the sweet spot for lovers of wordplay. * Kirkus Reviews * The off-kilter angles and beanshaped personalities in Mark Hoffmann's pictures add to the madcappery of a story that, with a little concentration (and the interpretive help of an adult), will be a primer on poetic forms and styles. * The Wall Street Journal * Readers who love words, and especially those who love poetry, will enjoy Explosion at the Poem Factory. * Winnipeg Free Press *