Thanku
by Miranda Paul (editor)
A poetry anthology that teaches 32 forms while rewriting what gratitude means.
The story
Thirty-two poets contribute one poem each — every poem in a different form — to a picture-book anthology about daily gratitude. Joseph Bruchac opens with a Mohawk-elder teaching; the middle ranges across nature, family, identity, and everyday objects; and Liz Garton Scanlon closes with a growing Etheree. The back matter doubles as a poetry workshop: a 'Please Try These at Home!' glossary defines every form and hands young readers a writing invitation, while Miranda Paul's editor's note addresses Thanksgiving history directly.
Age verdict
Best fit 7-10; still works 5-12 with adult co-reading for the longer poems and the editor's note.
Our take
classroom cornerstone — teacher- and parent-strong poetry anthology with gentle kid-engagement
What stands out
Each audience's top 3 dimensions. Out of 30 scored per book.
Kids love
- Mental movie Strong
Sensory peaks carry across the collection — a concrete poem whose letters stretch 'up up up', 'teeth like tombstones,' the multi-sensory fry-bread family chant. Alongside image-rich poetry anchors like Bronzeville Boys and Girls (8), stronger than flat narrative prose but below a wholly-imagined world like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (9).
- New world unlocked Strong
The book hands readers 16+ named poetic forms — sijo, Fibonacci, Tyburn, décima mirror, McWhirtle. Unlike a fantasy-world unlock (Percy Jackson, 10), this is a craft-world unlock, similar to The Crossover's basketball-poem induction (8). Above most verse anthologies, below world-building fiction at the top tier.
Parents love
- Creative spark Exceptional
The back-matter forms glossary is effectively a writing-lab manual — 16+ named structures, each with definition and try-this prompt. Outperforms most poetry collections, alongside creativity anchors like Journey (9) and Beautiful Oops (9), or even above them for teen-ready craft density. Explicit creative launchpad.
- Stereotype-breaker Exceptional
Contributor lineup spans Mohawk, Anishinaabe, Muscogee Creek, Cherokee, Metis/Ojibwe, Spirit Lake Dakota, Korean-American, Tejana and more — genuinely polyvocal, outperforms most single-culture anthologies. Compared to We Are Water Protectors (9), same level of Indigenous centering; alongside anthologies like Under the Mesquite (9) at the top tier of representation.
Teachers love
- Mentor text quality Exceptional
Every poem is a named mentor text with an explicit back-matter entry defining the form and inviting imitation. Above single-genre mentor texts; similar to Love That Dog's mentor-by-design approach but with 16+ forms instead of one. Compared to top mentor-text anchors like Out of the Dust (10), this is wider coverage with less narrative depth — still earns a 10.
- Writing prompt potential Exceptional
The back matter is literally a writing-prompt engine — 16+ named forms, each a ready-to-use assignment. Unlike single-prompt books, this is a prompt library. Alongside Poetry Matters (10) and above most narrative mentor texts for this purpose. Maximum density of starter points.
✓ Perfect for
- • Classrooms doing a poetry unit or a voice-and-form study
- • Families wanting a Thanksgiving-season read that isn't the typical pilgrims-and-Indians version
- • Young writers who want to try 16+ named poetic forms with a model poem for each
- • Homes that value diverse voices — 32 poets across Indigenous, immigrant, and global backgrounds
- • Adult-child co-reading where the adult wants substance beyond the surface sweetness
Not ideal for
Children seeking a plot-driven story or a rhyming picture book with a single narrator — this is a variety-pack anthology, not a continuous tale.
At a glance
- Pages
- 40
- Chapters
- 38
- Words
- 3k
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- POV
- Alternating
- Illustration
- Fully Illustrated
- Published
- 2019
- Illustrator
- Marlena Myles
- ISBN
- 9781541523630
Mood & style
You'll know it worked when…
Your child asks to try writing their own poem in one of the forms named in the back matter — the book is engineered to produce exactly this response.
More like this
Same genre, similar age range. Ranked by kid score.
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