Review: The Poet Upstairs

Title: The Poet Upstairs (There is also a Spanish edition La Poeta del piso de arriba)
Author: Judith Ortiz Cofer
Illustrator: Oscar Ortiz
Publisher: Piñata Books from Arte Publico Press
Pages: 32
Review Copy: Final copy from publisher
Availability: On shelves now

Summary: A young girl learns about the power of poetry in this heart-warming tribute to an unnamed poet. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Review: Juliana is a young girl who loves books. Her mother reads to her in both Spanish and English. One day a poet moves into her apartment building. Together, Juliana and the poet create a beautiful poem. Juliana learns about the power of words to transport the reader and the writer to another place. The illustrations are bright and vivid sweeping readers off to the tropical islands that Juliana dreams and writes about.

Once Juliana has experienced the joy of poetry with the poet upstairs, she continues to write with her mother and on her own. The book is inspirational and includes the beautiful poem that the Juliana and her poet worked on together. It would be a nice mentor text for writing poetry that gives a sense of place.