I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage

• Age Range: 9 - 12 years

• Grade Level: 6 - 7

  For classroom and reading resources, click here.

SUMMARY

I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage brings together the work of fourteen award-winning poets and sixteen illustrators who share aspects of their childhood experiences in honest portraits of what it was like for them growing up in the United States.

Together these heartfelt poems and captivating illustrations about love, community, cultural memories, and racial struggles shine a light on the rich diversity of people in our nation as well as the timeless human connections and universal experiences we all share.

Readers of any age and background are sure moments that spark their memories and open their eyes.

REVIEW

“An inclusive collection of poets and artists pays homage to cultural and familial inheritance through a series of illustrated memories. Compiled by Hopkins, readers are treated to an intimate look into the childhoods of poets such as Naomi Shihab Nye and Kwame Alexander. Every work opens with a personal dictum from both poet and artist (“Painting is the voice that helps me share,” says Rafael López). And the following poems evoke an immediacy that connects readers with another’s memory—of travel, food, ritual, story—while drawing out readers’ own fond remembering (“When Abuelita visits/ time seems to stop,” writes Margarita Engle). The corresponding artwork demonstrates a wonderful range of visual language and technique; there is truly something for everyone in these pages. The index includes mini biographies and then-and-now photographs of the book’s contributors. A rich celebration of the cultures and moments that shape people.”—Publishers Weekly