A fabulous book on the power of poetry and how to write no matter where your life may take you. A must read if you are interested in writing poetry.

This is a gem; a (jabber)wacky, burble-y one, yes, but still a incandescent, shimmering gem it is. As you jabber-turn the pages (or click in my case) of this book, words of all kinds – nouns, verbs, brilliant adjectives and adverbs, and more – zip-zap-zoom, swish-flash-splash right at you, and sometimes amble at a pace you can relate to, and my tip – take a breath at those points, you will need it as you free fall into love with jabberwalking poetry!
Starting off with words from Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky, this book talks about finding poetry everywhere, in everything you see, do, hear, feel – in short – in using all your senses and scribbling down (literally) the words that pop out of your brain and convert them into poetry; and you can do it – on the move, wherever, whenever, scribble down your thoughts (even if and especially when they don’t make sense!) – and then use those treasured scribbles, polish them down to precious poetry!Herrera’s words dance across the pages, they whisper, scream, jump up and down (most likely with joy!), move between planets, play with doodles and drawings and scribbles, and share space with stories from his life of his journey to becoming who he is today, and draw you in to simply – CREATE!
So, come on, vamanos, let us all go do some jabberwalking!! Not yet, you say? You want to read the book first? Sure, in that case, see you all later, as for me, I am going to do me some jabber-walking-dancing :)My Note: This is a great book for parents and educators to encourage creative writing in all its forms! So definitely a great gift for those teachers you know and for parents and kids who love to explore the art of writing!

You can watch a trailer of the book by Herrerra himself here.

Rating: A+
Reading Level: Ages 8 – 12 (and all those who love wacky poetry, creativity, and words that zip zap and zoom all over)
Reread Level: 4.5/5

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an advanced digital review copy of Jabberwalking (and through this, helping me discover this wonderful gifted poet laureate)

Juan Felipe Herrera, the first Mexican-American Poet Laureate in the U.S.A., encourages readers to spark their creativity by going on a Jabber Walk. Part biography, part writing guide, Jabber Walking is an effusive, silly, excitable look inside a creative mind. Herrera wants to show kids that it's easy to get the creative juices flowing by getting moving: go Jabber Walking, and let your imagination go wild! Herrera's Jabber Walk takes readers with him on a walk to the Library of Congress, accompanied by his Chinese Pit Bull Shar-Pei, Lotus, who loves getting into her own blue-cheesy, crazy adventures. Black and white scrawled pictures are proof that creativity and Jabber Walking aren't limited solely to words. He asks questions to prompt thought: Do you remember a family story? How far back in time do your familiar stories take you? and introduces us to his story, starting with his father's great escape from Mexico in the early 20th Century. We learn that Jabber poems aren't supposed to be "too clean": they're "fast poems... wild poem... an unkempt, dirty, poem. A scribble, gooey, cuckoo, sweaty, puffy, blue-cheesy, incandescent poem!"

Throw the idea that you need to be linear out the window - this is the kind of book that embraces the creative process, with all of the crazy, fun, random thoughts that go into it. I'd love to see this used to teach creative writing; I'd love to start a Jabber Writing program at my library. Hmmm... Give this to kids that love to write, and give this to kids that need a gentle nudge to unleash their inner Jabber writer. Jabber Walking is too much fun, and it's one of those books that begs for more than one reading; there's just too much to take in on one read. Jabber Walking received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly.

Don't let your tongue tangle or your feet slip slide as you learn the well honed skill of Jabber-Walking while creativity ensues. An invitation to get creative on the go with endless curriculum potential both inside and outside the classroom.