Beyond the doorway of the first page of this collection awaits a dragon piñata, an alligator on the A train, a hungry yeti, an ice cream dream, jetpack sneakers, midnight firelight, a gray day, a plump tomato, a serious question and so much more. Whether you're feeling blue, lemon yellow or Day-Glo green, this inviting and magical book of poems takes young readers on an uplifting journey through everyday moments, moods and experiences, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. With enchanting illustrations throughout and seven die-cut portals that open into the realms of Welcome, Wonder, Wild, Weee!, Whoops & Wallops, Windows and Whispers & Well Wishes, Words With Wings and Magic Things explores how words can awaken us to a world of wonder and possibility. Step inside . . . and take flight!
DOUG SALATI is the author and illustrator of Hot Dog, winner of the 2023 Caldecott Medal and the 2023 Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award, and named one of the best books of the year by Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews and the New York Public Library. The first book he illustrated was In a Small Kingdom by Tomie dePaola, and the second, Lawrence in the Fall by Matthew Farina, was a 2020 Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award honoree. A 2015 Sendak Fellow, Doug lives and works in New York City.