Imperfect

From Booklist

This slim volume, geared toward middle-graders, packs a lot of punch. Featuring 70 poems by 55 different poets, it includes many new poets, such as Linda Kulp Trout, Catherine Flynn, and Robert Schechter, alongside a handful of classic poets like Carl Sandburg, Kobayashi Issa, and Antonio Machado. There are even a selection of poems written by young people themselves (in sixth and seventh grade). The focus on making mistakes of all kinds is the "perfect" focus for an anthology aimed at tweens and teens, and the poets approach the topic from both serious and silly points of view. Extra resources at the back of the book offer helpful advice for the reader...Pithy quotes and minimal art are subtly placed throughout the poems, including the sketch of a crack (in the vase on the cover) on many pages, hinting at the "mending" of imperfection the Japanese call "kintsugi, "or "precious scars" or "golden repair," a way to see the beauty in fixing what is broken. A lively blog dedicated to the book (mistakesanthology.blogspot.com) continues to offer insights and quotes, along with links to each of the poets with more poems to enjoy. --Sylvia Vardell