Jonarno Lawson

Funny, thought-provoking, and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up Wise Down is a lively conversation between two internationally known poets, illustrated by acclaimed artist Satoshi Kitamura. How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, esteemed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious, and wondrous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is forever and ever an adventure. Comprising more than seventy-five poems written in a call-and-response format, with each poem having a reply from the other poet, Wise Up Wise Down is sure to inspire all readers to find humor in every day.

Funny, thought-provoking and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up! Wise Down! is a lively conversation between two internationally renowned poets, illustrated by treasured artist Satoshi Kitamura. How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, internationally acclaimed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious and wondrous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is a forever and ever adventure. Praise for Wise Up! Wise Down!“Curious minds will love the poems… Poetry at its most creative and versatile is what readers will discover in this most wonderous journey through words, ideas and pictures ~ on the page and in the mind.” Armadillo Magazine"A fun collection of poetry." Left on the Shelf"Three awesome creative people from children’s literature have collaborated on what is sure to become a favourite poetry book for many readers ... A terrific book." Red Reading Hub

In a beautifully detailed wordless picture book, a tumbledown building becomes home sweet home for a found family. A lonely little girl and her grandparent need to fill the run-down apartment in their building. But taking over the rooms above their shop will mean major renovations for the new occupants, and none of the potential renters can envision the potential of the space – until one special couple shows up. With their ingenuity, the little girl’s big heart, and heaps of hard work, the desperate fixer-upper begins to change in lovely and surprising ways. In this bustling wordless picture book, JonArno Lawson’s touching story and Qin Leng’s gentle illustrations capture all angles of the building’s transformation, as well as the evolving perspectives of the girl and her grandparent. A wordless picture book that celebrates the power of community, the joys of new friends and the magic that happens when you open your heart, and fill your home with love and joy.

A dazzling wordless picture book celebrates creative problem-solving, teamwork, and the sun-splashed wonder of a day at the beach. The creators of the acclaimed Over the Shop evoke a perfect summer beach day--and themes of creativity, cooperation, flexibility, and persistence--all without a word in this sun-warmed, salt-stained delight of a story. A busload of beachgoers spills out onto the sand for a day of fun and frolic. Three siblings begin work on a castle, patting and shaping the sand as the sun arcs over the sky. Time and again, their progress is halted: a windswept hat topples their creation; a toddler ambles through it; the tide creeps close, and then too close. Meeting each demolition with fresh determination, the builders outdo themselves time and again, until the moment arrives to pile back into the bus for home. An authentic portrait of sibling cooperation--and glorious inspiration for creative people of all ages--A Day for Sandcastles channels the thrill of surrendering expectations on the path to infinite possibility.

En gång i tiden talade alla människor i hela världen samma språk. Men så byggde några av dem ett torn för att ta sig upp till Gud, och det gillade inte Gud. Så Gud skickade en drake som förstörde tornet, och sen gjorde Gud så att det blev omöjligt för folk att förstå varann … Men om man inte har samma språk, hur gör man då? Man kan skratta och gråta, man kan sjunga och spela musik och man kan lära varandra sitt språk. JonArno Lawsons originella och roliga berättelse om Babels torn väcker många tankar om fantasi och verklighet, om språk och sång, om vad som skiljer oss åt och vad vi har gemensamt fast vi är så olika. Piet Groblers bilder är en briljant tolkning av denna mångbottnade berättelse. Sophisticated yet playful, this is an unusual, original work … School Library Journal An emotionally moving, visually delightful ode to the simple powers of observation and empathy… . A book to savor slowly and then revisit again and again. School Library Journal This is a lush and beautiful book … Highly recommended. CM Magazine

In a beautifully detailed wordless picture book, a tumbledown building becomes home sweet home for a found family. A lonely little girl and her grandparent need to fill the run-down apartment in their building. But taking over the quarters above their store will mean major renovations for the new occupants, and none of the potential renters can envision the possibilities of the space--until one special couple shows up. With their ingenuity, the little girl's big heart, and heaps of hard work, the desperate fixer-upper begins to change in lovely and surprising ways. In this bustling wordless picture book, JonArno Lawson's touching story and Qin Leng's gentle illustrations capture all angles of the building's transformation, as well as the evolving perspectives of the girl and her grandparent. A warm and subtly nuanced tale, Over the Shop throws open the doors to what it means to accept people for who they are and to fill your home with love and joy.

From the international best-selling author of Sidewalk Flowers and a world-renowned illustrator, this picture book is about the power of song, inspired by the story of the Tower of Babel. This unusual, thought-provoking story begins with an old woman telling a tale to a group of children in a playground. One of the boys can’t understand what she is saying, so another offers to translate. The old woman’s tale is inspired by the Tower of Babel story: In the days when everyone spoke the same language, the people built a tower to reach God. But God was annoyed and sent a dragon to destroy the tower, then created new languages for everyone so that they couldn’t understand each other. Fortunately, two little girls find a way to communicate through song. Told entirely through dialogue, moving back and forth between the old woman’s tale and the exchange between the two boys, this original, sometimes funny story raises questions about what divides us and what brings us together, in spite of all our differences — it is the power of song in this case, which ultimately brings hope. Piet Grobler brings a masterful visual interpretation to this layered story, rendering the old woman and children in the playground in monochromatic tones and the characters in the old woman’s tale in a naïve style with vibrant color, complete with incomprehensible languages in hand-drawn speech balloons. An author’s note explains JonArno Lawson’s inspiration for the story. Key Text Features author’s note Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS. ELA-LITERACY. RL.1.6 Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text. CCSS. ELA-LITERACY. RL.2.9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

What happens when a bird doesn’t feel like a bird? Alone with himself, even among his flock, a young bird finds an unexpected connection in the eyes of a little girl. He begins to wonder about the nature of life: What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be a bird? Swept up in his exploration of the human world, he doesn’t notice that his flock has already migrated south for the season. Written by JonArno Lawson and beautifully illustrated by Nahid Kazemi, this sparse, lyrical story is about community lost and found, and what it means to know one’s self.

From the international best-selling author of Sidewalk Flowers and the illustrator of The King of the Birds, a picture book about crime, punishment…and art. When Holland is arrested for the thirty-seventh time for stealing beautiful things, he must make a very difficult decision. A police officer says that he must either go to jail or become a soldier. He chooses to join the army and is sent south, where he finds himself surrounded by beautiful things: palm trees, parrots, flowers and big blue waves…and fish! Holland starts painting pictures of the fish, which he sells at the market on the weekend. Soon, he has money to send home to his parents. They are worried that he’s gone back to his stealing ways, so his father writes to ask if he earned the money honestly. Holland writes back to reassure him that he has decided to paint instead of steal because “not everything that’s pretty can be stuffed in your pockets!” Based on a true story about JonArno Lawson’s uncle, and accompanied by Natalie Nelson’s collage illustrations, this quirky picture book is about making choices – and art. Key Text Featuresauthor’s notetrue storyCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS. ELA-LITERACY. RL.2.3Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. CCSS. ELA-LITERACY. RL.4.1Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

From award-winning poet JonArno Lawson comes a beautifully illustrated wordless picture book – an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures. In this wordless, beautifully illustrated picture book from award-winning poet JonArno Lawson, a little girl collects wild flowers while her distracted father pays her – and their surroundings – little attention. Each flower the little girl gathers becomes a gift for a person or animal, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. An ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures, Footpath Flowers is a quiet but powerful testament to the joy that children can find in ordinary things and the mutual value of giving.

New edition of a ground-breaking poetry anthology (Inside Out) in which 21 poets each discuss one of their poems and how they came to write it. A new edition of a ground-breaking poetry anthology (previously Inside Out) in which 21 poets each discuss one of their poems and how they came to write it. They are on a wide range of subjects –colonialism, cows in the beach, telling lies, aquariums – and there's also nonsense verse, a poem about alligator pie, and one about the wonderful man from the Land of Fandango. The poets, who are from across the world, include John Agard, Carol Ann Duffy, Margaret Mahy, Roger McGough, Jack Prelutsky and Michael Rosen, and they talk surprisingly honestly about what comes into their heads when they write. Aloud in My Head is a fascinating, sometimes funny, book about the act of creation itself. It's for everyone who loves poetry and wants to inspire others to love it too.

In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. "Written" by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people, and small gestures.