From award-winning author Matthew Burgess and Caldecott medalist Doug Salati comes a spellbinding collection of poems for young readers that celebrates the power of words to awaken the imagination and alchemize the everyday. A gorgeous gift book for fans of Shel Silverstein with seven die-cut spreads throughout.
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!
A Kirkus Reviews Best Kids Book of March 2025 A Barnes & Noble Best Kids Book of March 2025
"Burgess displays a keen intuition for what will get kids laughing — and what will make them think. . . . Broad and subtle in turn — verse to stay with readers for years to come." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews
"Burgess offers fantastical fragments and affirming messages throughout this rich trove of impish verse. In digitally colored pencil drawings, some stylistically reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s in A Hole Is to Dig, Caldecott Medalist Salati offers slyly understated vignettes of children dancing, dreaming, encountering creatures, and more." —Publishers Weekly
"Burgess twists the strands of language into invented words that make perfect sense in Salati’s scene of feasting monsters. . . . Poets and artists can accomplish magic."—Imaginary Elevators
"Words with Wings and Magic Things is a whimsical illustrated poetry collection for young readers. . . . [containing] over 50 poems showcasing the author’s love of language, words and rhyme. Readers can’t help but smile at its combination of silliness and heart. Burgess’ poems are a playful celebration of imagination, being yourself, and making magic out of the mundane." —Quebec Library Association
Matthew Burgess is a poet, educator, and the author of many picture books including Words With Wings and Magic Things, As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts, Bird Boy, and The Bear and The Moon. His books have garnered starred reviews, a Eureka! Gold Award for Excellence in Nonfiction and spots on best-of lists from the New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist and Amazon. A associate professor of literature and creative writing at Brooklyn College, Matthew has been a poet-in-residence in New York City public schools and currently serves as senior editor of Teachers & Writers Magazine.
View titles by Matthew Burgess
DOUG SALATI is the critically acclaimed creator of the 2023 Caldecott Medal-winning picture book, Hot Dog. He is also the illustrator of Tomie dePaola's In a Small Kingdom and Matthew Farina's Lawrence in the Fall, an Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book, which the Wall Street Journal described as a "handsome excursion." Doug graduated from the Illustration as Visual Essay master’s program at the School of Visual Arts in 2014 and was a 2015 Sendak Fellow. His illustration work has been recognized by 3x3 Illustration, American Illustration, and the Society of Illustrators. He lives and works in New York City.
View titles by Doug Salati
From award-winning author Matthew Burgess and Caldecott medalist Doug Salati comes a spellbinding collection of poems for young readers that celebrates the power of words to awaken the imagination and alchemize the everyday. A gorgeous gift book for fans of Shel Silverstein with seven die-cut spreads throughout.
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!
Reviews
A Kirkus Reviews Best Kids Book of March 2025 A Barnes & Noble Best Kids Book of March 2025
"Burgess displays a keen intuition for what will get kids laughing — and what will make them think. . . . Broad and subtle in turn — verse to stay with readers for years to come." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews
"Burgess offers fantastical fragments and affirming messages throughout this rich trove of impish verse. In digitally colored pencil drawings, some stylistically reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s in A Hole Is to Dig, Caldecott Medalist Salati offers slyly understated vignettes of children dancing, dreaming, encountering creatures, and more." —Publishers Weekly
"Burgess twists the strands of language into invented words that make perfect sense in Salati’s scene of feasting monsters. . . . Poets and artists can accomplish magic."—Imaginary Elevators
"Words with Wings and Magic Things is a whimsical illustrated poetry collection for young readers. . . . [containing] over 50 poems showcasing the author’s love of language, words and rhyme. Readers can’t help but smile at its combination of silliness and heart. Burgess’ poems are a playful celebration of imagination, being yourself, and making magic out of the mundane." —Quebec Library Association
Matthew Burgess is a poet, educator, and the author of many picture books including Words With Wings and Magic Things, As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts, Bird Boy, and The Bear and The Moon. His books have garnered starred reviews, a Eureka! Gold Award for Excellence in Nonfiction and spots on best-of lists from the New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist and Amazon. A associate professor of literature and creative writing at Brooklyn College, Matthew has been a poet-in-residence in New York City public schools and currently serves as senior editor of Teachers & Writers Magazine.
View titles by Matthew Burgess
DOUG SALATI is the critically acclaimed creator of the 2023 Caldecott Medal-winning picture book, Hot Dog. He is also the illustrator of Tomie dePaola's In a Small Kingdom and Matthew Farina's Lawrence in the Fall, an Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book, which the Wall Street Journal described as a "handsome excursion." Doug graduated from the Illustration as Visual Essay master’s program at the School of Visual Arts in 2014 and was a 2015 Sendak Fellow. His illustration work has been recognized by 3x3 Illustration, American Illustration, and the Society of Illustrators. He lives and works in New York City.
View titles by Doug Salati
