A Pocket of Time

This book about Elizabeth Bishop is for young school-aged children.  Elizabeth began making and enjoying rhymes as a girl and grew up to become a well-known poet. 


Elizabeth had a complicated childhood, as the introduction to the book explains.  Her father died when she was young and her mother was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital.  It was then Elizabeth's maternal grandparents who raised her in Nova Scotia, Canada.


The story is told by showing the places that were important to Elizabeth. It is narrated in the present tense in a "you are there" tone. For example, the reader sees Gammie and Elizabeth in the kitchen or the family eating dinner in the dining room.  The reader also travels outside with Elizabeth, for example, accompanying her to school or the post office. 


The illustrations in this book are gorgeous; they are both whimsical and appealing.  Additionally the book includes many quotes from Bishop and her writings.  This title is not in any way a full biography but it gives a nice sense of Elizabeth's world.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

I admittedly am unfamiliar with Elizabeth Bishop, and knowing something about her would add to enjoying this book, I believe. I did google her after finishing it, and reread, and it did help. This is about her early years, growing up in Nova Scotia with her maternal grandparents, and goes through her daily life and surroundings, based on Bishop's writings later in life. Snippets of her poetry are added in, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing. The subject matter is interesting, as a peek into her world, but the execution is a bit stiff, a touch flat. The introduction and postscript were more lively however. The illustrations are very engaging- I enjoyed the combination of detailed drawings and collage, and they highlighted the text nicely. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

#APocketofTime #NetGalley