I Carry Your Heart with Me

E. E. Cummings (1894--1962) was among the most influential, widely read, and revered modernist poets. His many awards included an Academy of American Poets Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and the Bollingen Prize. Among his many volumes are The Enormous Room and Tulips & Chimneys. Mati Rose McDonough lives in San Francisco where she regularly encounters lucky elephants, talking birds, and a mysterious girl who always wears feathers in her hair. These creatures of mystery and grace remind her daily that no one is too old for magic or too young for beauty, so she paints their stories for fans of hope and adventure all over our dear world. McDonough studied painting at the California College of the Arts and has had many shows around the country. She has been featured in several magazines and books including Artful Blogging magazine and The Handmade Marketplace.

In her first children's book, artist McDonough imagines the mother-child relationship as the centerpiece for the e.e. cummings love poem "[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]," written using its original format and punctuation. In serene mixed-media collages, a mother with soulful eyes, rosy cheeks, and her hair in a short, black bob accompanies her daughter through the early stages of her young life, from infancy to her daughter's first excursion into the world on her own. Tucked within a cozy nest or seen flying overhead, a cut-paper mother bird and its offspring mimic the mother and child during their bonding moments, as do two whimsical paper elephants, scrawled in cursive ink and newsprint. Decorative hearts, leaves, water motifs, and assorted fabrics are also integrated throughout, complementing rather than overwhelming McDonough's rich, solid colors. The message of growth, nurturing, and boundless love will reach readers, while Cummings's emotional and succinct verse stands autonomously: "and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant/ and whatever a sun will always sing is you." Ages 2--6. (Apr.) - Publishers Weekly A mother shows her daughter the world, from season to season, from night into day, in the sweet, collage artwork that accompanies the poem "[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]" by E. E. Cummings. Mellow colors and images patched together from paper, cardboard, fabric, canvas, and paint fuse beautifully with Cummings's gentle words. This masterful merging of poetry and illustration makes for the perfect book for bedtime. Ages two to five.Foreword Reviews