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The first reviews are in for If I Could Choose a Best Day: Poems of Possibility, selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illus. by Olivia Sua (Candlewick, March 4, 2025)

Publisher's description:

An ode to imagination and the power of “if,” this exhilarating poetry collection features the voices of thirty-one diverse poets.


If I could choose a best day
it would be sunny
it would be summer
and I would be with you.

Imagine what you could do with if. Build a tree house, ride your bike back in time, catch a firefly like a tiny star in the palm of your hands and let it go to make a wish—anything, when it starts with if. Because if is where your imagination begins, where the impossible becomes possible, if only you imagine. And if you do, just think of how much better our world could be. Thirty-one poets, selected by “poetic forever friends” and frequent collaborators Irene Latham and Charles Waters, begin each of their poems with the word if and imagine the possibilities the gift of if can hold. Olivia Sua’s cut-paper and painted-mosaic illustrations add warmth and meaning to the poems, allowing the reader’s mind to soar with possibility. In an end note, the anthologists offer insight into their selection process, aimed at gathering a comprehensive and representative collection of poems.

With poems by:
Lacresha Berry • Robyn Hood Black • JaNay Brown-Wood • Joseph Bruchac • Siv Cedering • Emily Dickinson • Rebecca Kai Dotlich • Nikki Grimes • Jolene Gutiérrez • Georgia Heard • Anna Grossnickle Hines • Irene Latham • Renée M. LaTulippe • Nancy Tupper Ling • Sylvia Liu • Rebekah Lowell • Vikram Madan • Guadalupe García McCall • Lilian Moore • Eric Ode • Bob Raczka • Lisa Rogers • Sydell Rosenberg • Laura Purdie Salas • Janice Scully • Teresa Owens Smith • Gabi Snyder • Sarah Grace Tuttle • Amy Ludwig VanDerwater • Charles Waters • Janet Wong


And here are the early reviews!

"Sua’s charming mixed-media illustrations, which make wonderful use of collage, echo and extend the poets’ imagery, depicting oft-joyous children with varied skin tones and hair textures. A fresh, appealing anthology that celebrates the freedom inherent in possibility."
—Kirkus Reviews

Full Kirkus review here


"This hopeful poetry collection edited by The Mistakes That Made Us collaborators Latham and Waters examines how one builds self-confidence through adventure (and a little bit of magic). "
- Publisher's Weekly

Full Publisher's Weekly review here