This book of haiku poems paints vivid pictures for each of the four seasons. Each haiku is like its own riddle for students to put the pieces together and figure out hat object is being escribed. This book would be great for introducing poetry and/or helping students understand visualization. Readers should use the words and pictures to carefully understand what a haiku is and use critical thinking to decode the riddles built into each haiku.

New books to help introduce students to poetry are always a welcome find. This book has the added benefit of excellent artwork to enhance the presentation of the poems. A combination of haiku and mask poems, each one is a riddle told by a nonhuman narrator that the reader can guess from the clues within the lines. As if that were not enough, the poems also move through the seasons with descriptions of things experienced at each time of the year.

The acrylic illustrations capture the beauty of dandelion seeds drifting across a summer sky, the bustle of a school hallway, or the twinkle of stars in a clear winter night. Along with the seasonal scenes, each picture also shows the answer to the riddle-ku on each page. This would be a fun book to share with a friend, taking turns to read a poem aloud and let the friend guess the answer to the riddle, then reveal the illustration to see if they were correct in their answer. (It could also work well in a classroom read-aloud in the same way.)

For those wishing to use it as a poetry mentor text there is an author's note that explains about mask poems, haiku, and the use of the haiku form to create riddle-ku. There are also suggestions for further reading with books of haiku, riddle poems, and a few about the seasons. An answer key for each riddle is also provided.

A great addition to school library and classroom collections - a fresh and thought-provoking collection.

The beauty of this book is not only in the words, but the illustrations as well. It is a special book with all the seasons brought to life in words. The ideas are things children can relate to such as baseball and weather. The haikus also relate to feelings, which everyone understand as children as well as adults. The reading level is for ages 5-9, but it is great for all. The haikus are perfect for teachers and young children. If you are learning or teaching about haikus this is a the book to help with that because they are easy to understand haikus.

‘you gasp as I roar,
my mane exploding, sizzling—
lion of the sky!

Haiku meet riddles in this wonderful collection from Laura Purdie Salas. The poems celebrate the seasons and describe everything from an earthworm to a baseball to an apple to snow angels, alongside full-color illustrations.’

Lion of the Sky by Laura Purdie Salas is a charming collection of haiku centered around the seasons, accompanied by gorgeous artwork. The author calls these 'riddle-kus’ because each haiku describes a common object using riddle language, including I and me. At the end there's a section detailing how to write riddle-ku, and a section of suggested reading books. I read this with my cubs,cand we all enjoyed it. I've written haiku before, but it's been awhile and these poems inspired me to write poetry again. And my cubs to try for themselves! Recommended for those who love poetry.

***Many thanks to Netgalley & Lerner Publishing for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

We have the seasons.
We have riddle-ku for each season
That is haiku in the form of riddles.

I'm red, delicious -
with a quick twist of your wrist,
I'm free from the tree

Illustrations are good. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

Lion of the Sky explores the four seasons with colorful descriptive haikus and beautiful illustrations. This would be a wonderful addition to any young child's collection.

A delightful kids book full of haiku and riddles! I wasn't completely sure what this book was when I requested it, but I was in the mood for some poetry. This book not only had some clever riddles, it has absolutely beautiful illustrations.

Amazing book. I didn't know what to expect with the cover, but the surprise was pleasant. Well-done haikus are paired with luscious illustrations that feel like nostalgic mid-century paintings. I will be buying this book for many young ones in my life. Do yourself a favor if you love poetry or mid-century illustration, or just want to get lost in a lovely book, and find this book. It is amazing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lion of the Sky is a really clever and beautiful collection of haiku that all feature different aspects of the seasons. Salas has done a wonderful job of making individual haiku fit into a greater, flowing, thematic story. The art is where this book shines. I read a digital arc, but I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy so I can see all the illustrations in print. They were very vivid and imaginative.

Great book! 5/5 stars!

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I'm not a big fan of Haiku but I decided to try this collection anyway. This was a cute collection of children's poems. Loved the illustrations, too.

This was the last book I read it 2018 and it was a pretty book. I enjoyed the haiku poet and the art, I felt that they fit together, playing well of the words and paintings. Haiku could be my favorite poetry, I think because it's short yet powerful. Plus, it's easy and looked nice in my journals.

This is a poetry book for children which I feel most children would like and enjoy, it's pretty while still having a nice flow from one season to the other season. Overall, this is a good read!

I love haiku, and I love riddles. I also love Laura Purdie Salas. So, of course, I had to check out this book.

What did I (re)discover as/after I read this book:

Riddle-ku are a fun way to introduce the young reader to the haiku!
A fun way to think and try to answer the riddles. Note that you should first read out the riddleku to your young one before they look at the illustrations (at least on the first read) so they can try to answer it without any help from the beautiful helpful illustrations.
Seasons come and seasons go; each one puts on its own show! So make sure you enjoy all of it – heat, fall-colors, rain, and snow!
As with her other books, Laura Purdie Salas easily shows the reader that there are so many different ways to look at the world around us – from the dandelion to those brilliant fireworks that light up the sky:)
Again, as with other books, a helpful resource is included in the last couple of pages. One of them is a quick guide to how to write your own riddle-ku. The second includes books for further reading and answers to the riddle-ku in the book.
In Summary:
The verdict, well of course, it must be clear by now – I love this book too! Check out Laura Purdie Salas’ website for free activities and to share any riddle-ku you write.

Rating: A
Reading Level: 5 – 9 years
Reread Level: 5/5

Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy of the book above. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated in any other way by the publishers or others for this review.

Lion of the Sky Haiku for All Seasons by Laura Purdie Salas features a beautiful collection of haikus that are easy to read and understand for its target audience.

Lion of the Sky is broken down into the four seasons, which is perfect for teachers looking to carry something throughout the school year. 

"I love summer fields-

   left field, right field, center field

I fly to them all!"

The above is my son's favorite haiku in the book. He loves baseball, so when he read this he immediately said "YES!"

Children can easily relate to many of the haikus in the book, we had a very lively discussion each one as we read through this book.

The first day of school haiku was daughter's favorite:

"my first-day outfit

is fresh paint and polished floors-

here come my new friends!"

Many children can relate to first day jitters and how most feel it is important to look your best the first day, and making new friends. 

Overall Lion of the Sky was an enjoyable book for the entire family. Lion in the Sky allowed us to have a very lively discussion, take a trip down memory lane, and just laugh and have fun. This is certainly a book I can see us reading on another Friday night as we wind down for bed. 

Highly recommended.

"Lion of the Sky" creatively and poetically reflects how each of Earth's seasons (spring, summer, autumn/fall, and winter) might look, smell, sound, taste, and feel. The text and illustrations in this book are equally lovely and well suited for children ages 5-9.

I am always looking for ways to add more poetry into the lives of my children and this was a perfect book to do so. The book has beautiful poems in a simple, fun format that kids are intrigued by and excited about. Can't wait to add this one to my classroom library.

As a lover of Haiku, this is one that I will put on my "to buy" list. The artwork is amazing and the haiku is very well done.

This was adorable. I loved the premise, the execution, the illustrations. This is a book I would want to have for my (hypothetical) child.

An excellent and timely look at haikus and how they can express a multitude of emotions and stories in just 17 sounds. Highly recommended.

I love children’s simple story books to push boundaries and present words and ideas in now and challenging ways. To entice and grab the young minds listening or learning to read.
Pitched for 5 - 9 age group, I would read this to a child as soon as they enjoy the book time experience.
Lion of the Sky is a collection Haiku for all seasons. Written by the clever and talented Laura Purdue Salas and wonderfully illustrated by Mercè López.
The colour palate is a delight on the eyes and combined with the Haiku, short poetry over 3 lines that contain 5:7:5 syllables. In these they are riddles to help the child to explore their world more with the aid of word and pen & ink drawings.
Covering the year, we travel from Spring to Winter. From rainy days to playing in the snow.
I loved this book and it is one that would be difficult to tire reading; the author even encourages us to write our own Haiku or Riddle-ku as shared here.

“I’m a WRIGGLING tube,
soft underground tunneller-
I fear early birds”

I love summer fields-
left field, right field, centre field
I fly to the all!

I search under oaks
and gather tasty treasures-
winter is coming!

firelight from the past-
I wink in the frozen sky,
waiting for wishes

Marvellous and with the artwork so magical.

Beautifully conceive and born in these delightful pages to ensure Riddle-Kuantan’s will become the new limericks. Love words, solve riddles and rejoice in our changing year through this book.

The glorious four seasons as I've come to embrace them were displayed in all their glory in this lovely collection of poems. Meanings not lost, strong messages of everyday life on this heavenly planet are delicately encapsulated in many of these simple passages. In unison with every passing page, I was transported back in time to recall many of my waking dreams. The collaboration made by the author with the creation of wonderful illustrations made for a charming book of poems. This book comes highly recommended for anyone willing to take a trip back in time. 

I offer my sincere thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.