In Praise of Mystery

How torn I am on this review! My quarrel is not with Ada Limón’s poem per se. She was U.S. poet laureate, after all, so the poem’s inspiring. The poem “In Praise of Mystery” will be heading into outer space aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper. Lyrical as it is, I’m not sure that aliens orbiting Jupiter will be able to understand “In Praise of Mystery.” I am sure that the target audience for this children’s picture book won’t have the least idea what the poem’s about. Maybe they’ll think it’s Encyclopedia Brown in poem form? Or maybe a plea for Earth to get a second moon? My guess is that the children will enjoy the illustrations by Peter See, who received a Caldecott Medal honor award, and ignore the words. I really show more don’t think there’s an actual audience for this picture book.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, W. W. Norton & Company and Norton Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. show less

17 EUR