Amazing Faces compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins will make you smile. It also will make you frown, sigh, and laugh out loud. This book of poetry is sure to evoke a range of emotions that are shared by all people, a range reflected in the diversity of radiant faces beautifully illustrated by Chris Soentpiet. 
Hopkins has assembled poems from an impressive list of authors, including Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, Janet S. Wong, and Joseph Bruchac. But the list of names fade away as the poems take center stage. Some are powerful, some are gentle, and some take your breath away. For example, about storyteller Aunt Mary Sky:
You can read so many things in her face
Like a cloud touched by a breath of wind
one shape, then another takes its place
as even the trees lean close and listen.
This book is really meant to be shared. Readers will want to discuss and ponder each poem and accompanying illustration. Although listed for ages 4-8, this inspiring collection is definitely appealing to a readers of a wide range of ages.
Teachers and librarians take note: you’ll want to have this one in within reach as a useful, multipurpose resource.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Lee & Low Books; 1 edition (June 30, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1600603343
ISBN-13: 978-1600603341
Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at The Miss Rumphius Effect.
This book was provided for review.