Cover Reveal: No More Poems by Rhett Miller, ill. Dan Santat

I have a lot of “things” that I particularly like. Nonfiction that doesn’t contain fake dialogue. Translated children’s books from overseas. Comics. Math. I guess Poetry could fall into that category as well. Works of children’s poetry are always of interest to me, and it seems like this year there’s a whole slew of them to choose from. But what about 2019? Will this ever increasing trend of marvelous poetry continue or will it peter out, once more relegating itself to April only?

The answer may be found in today’s cover reveal. Behold, a book of poetry slated to hit bookstore and library shelves on March 5th, 2019. It’s written by singer-songwriter Rhett Miller, the lead vocalist for The Old 97’s.  What’s interesting to me is that, much in the same vein as Chris Harris’s I’m Just No Good at Rhyming, the somewhat celebrity eschews the classic picture book form (whew!) in favor of something a little brainier. A little more heady. Something like . . . fun poetry!

You want the deets? Here are the deets:

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Rhett Miller teams up with Caldecott Medalist and bestselling artist Dan Santat in a riotous collection of irreverent poems for modern families.

In the tradition of Shel Silverstein, these poems bring a fresh new twist to the classic dilemmas of childhood as well as a perceptive eye to the foibles of modern family life. Full of clever wordplay and bright visual gags–and toilet humor to spare–these twenty-three rhyming poems make for an ideal read-aloud experience.

Taking on the subjects of a bullying baseball coach and annoying little brothers with equally sly humor, renowned lyricist Rhett Miller’s clever verses will have the whole family cackling.

But what of the poems themselves? Are they any good? Here’s a sampling of one of them. I love the tone of Dan’s art here. Very Black Mirror.

And finally, that moment you’ve all been waiting for . . . the cover!

Nice. Thanks to Kristina Pisciotta and Victoria Stapleton and the folks at Little, Brown & Co. for the reveal.

Filed under: Cover Reveal