¿Qué es un poema?/What Is a Poem?

De la Jara answers the titular question in this bilingual picture book that begins in Spanish and then revisits the stanzas in English. Simple lines begin with artful abstracts (“You can fit every/ word in a poem,/ all the smells,/ plants, silence,/ emotions”), then transition to playful musings (“Puppies can be/ planets/ and flowers/ can be kittens”). Spare black-line illustrations, often bean-shaped, flex to match the fluidity described via verse, elongating alongside lines on form (“A poem can/ also go off the pa-/ per”). It all leads to a brief, resonant conclusion (“A poem can do/ anything./ A poem is a mirror inside/ your head”). Effectively minimalist, it’s a creative multilingual exploration of the possibilities of line and verse. Ages 4–8. (May)