Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me

A new collection of poetry for kids from Coretta Scott King Book Award winner Eloise Greenfield! 

Thinker isn't just an average puppy—he's a poet. So is his owner, Jace. Together, they turn the world around them into verse.

There's just one problem: Thinker has to keep quiet in public, and he can't go to school with Jace. That is, until Pets' Day. But when Thinker is allowed into the classroom at last, he finds it hard to keep his true identity a secret.

Eloise Greenfield was born on 17 May 1929 in Parmele, North Carolina and grew up in Washington, DC, where she still lives. She has received many awards and honors, including the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement and, for the body of her work, the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children from the National Council of Teachers of English.

Ehsan Abdollahi teaches at Tehran’s top Honar (Art) University and has illustrated a number of children’s books published in English by Tiny Owl, including When I Coloured in the World, by one of Iran’s best-known living poets, Ahmadreza Ahmadi.

Coretta Scott King Award-winner Greenfield sensitively conveys Jace's anxiety about being perceived as different, and his realization that being true to one's self is the best bet--for kids and dog poets, too.--Publishers Weekly 

Greenfield brings her vast experience to this delightful piece of poetic whimsy that celebrates the powers of poetry, family, and friendship. The light and liveliness of the pictures are eye-catching and appealing, and the color palette is warm and rich, further enhancing the poetry. A good way to introduce the youngest readers to extended narratives in verse. -- Kirkus Reviews

In this charming book of linked poems -- the story of a pup who speaks, but only in verse -- the distinguished children's poet Greenfield glides gracefully between rhyme, free verse, haiku and rap. A boy named Jace becomes the dog's owner. He names him Thinker (I'm deep and I'm a poet, the dog warns. A cute name's not O.K.) and the two have back-and-forth chats about life. On every page, Abdollahi's collaged illustrations bring the characters to life with a soulful flair. -- The New York Times