Ella Risbridger

i am having BIG emotions over a cookbook. Ella Risbridger talks honestly and openly about grieving and mental health and struggling and wants to make cooking accessible to all. and the acknowledgements at the end of the book! we learned that Tall Man has passed.. BIG tears. i can't say anything about the quality of the recipes since i haven't made any of them, but they sound lovely! Risbridger is a comforting voice along the way as making food can be tricky for a lot of people. and she makes show more me want to have big saturday or sunday dinners every weekend even though that sounds exhausting. and i really appreciate how she always mentions to have some wine with the meals show less

Never judge a book by its cover!

At first glance (cover and endpapers), I was sure this was another euro-centric, free-spirited collection of happiness ever after. It disappointed me to think a purposeful gathering of the work of women and girls would be so exclusive, so out of touch with the social upheavals and shifts we are living through.

I was wrong!

The introduction and the afterword gently steer the reader to consider this time and their place in it, to explore beyond the book and into show more one's own views. The poetry chosen reflects women and girls from around the world unapologetically sharing their truth. This is mostly a feel-good collection of memories, thoughts, and dreams. Some of the poetess will be more familiar than others, depending on one's place and time. While I don't think I've identified the "one" yet, I know it doesn't matter. Each contributor has something to share with me.

The illustrations are at once spare and lush, sweeping landscapes that pair with the sentiment of the poems grouped and displayed on them. Unlike the cover and endpapers, the interior illustrations are full of human female depictions with a delightful rainbow of shades and situations.

Two things I wish had been included in the work: depictions of persons with obvious assistive equipment and a listing of authors by location and dates. The youngest contributors were identified by age, but it would have been nice to have all authors placed in context. Perhaps, by leaving that information out, Risbridger was encouraging individual searching as suggested in the Afterword.

Thank you to Hachette for the prompt delivery of this preview edition. show less

"She'll Be the Sky: Poems by Women and Girls" is a thoughtfully curated and beautifully illustrated collection of poetry that is both timeless and timely. This is due to Ella Risbridger's careful selections of poems, which span a range forms, topics, authors, cultures, and time periods. For instance, she includes pieces by Syrian poet and refugee Amineh Abou Kerech, Soviet-Russian poet Bella Akhmadulina, and American children's poet Janet S. Wong. While the poems are eclectic, Risbridger show more creates cohesion by grouping poems that share similar themes and topics. All of this is complemented by Ann Shepeta's bright illustrations that capture the poems' spirit.

This book would be a great addition to child's (or adult's) poetry library. While young readers might be drawn to certain works early on, this is a book that is certainly worth revisiting as they grow up and can use their perspectives and experiences to inform their reading. show less

This anthology is a collection of poems *by* women and girls - one as young as age five - as well as a non-binary poet and anonymous authors.  It's important to note that the poems are not all *for* or all *about* women, which means the book is for everyone.

The 141-page book has 117 poems, as well as a lengthy introduction and afterword (four pages each) by anthologist Ella Risbridger.  Each double-page spread has one to three poems and a single illustration by Anna Shepeta.  There are show more three helpful indices at the back of the book - poems by title, author, and first line.  The binding is sturdy, and there's even a ribbon marker.
There were poems by authors familiar to me (most who wrote primarily for children), like Maya Angelou, Lucille Clifton, Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, Emily Dickinson, Eleanor Farjeon, Nikki Giovanni, Eloise Greenfield, Nikki Grimes, Lois Lenski, Amy Lowell, Eve Merriam, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Marilyn Nelson, Christina Rossetti, and Janet S. Wong.

However, there was only one poem I recognized:  an extract from Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" (p. 31).  Besides that one, others I liked were about historical figures:  "From Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, to Gaius Seutonius Paullinus, on the Occasion of His Invasion," by Kirsten Irving (p. 46); "Rosa Parks," by Jan Dean (p. 50); "Harriet Tubman," by Eloise Greenfield (p. 52); "Like A Sun," about Queen Victoria, by Elli Woollard (p. 84); and "Malala," by Michaela Morgan (p. 127).

The book was originally published in Great Britain in 2022 under the title, And Everything Will Be Glad to See You.  I think this book will be most appreciated by older children and students. show less