A Forest Song written by Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Evan Turk - ADVISABLE

A Forest Song written by Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Evan Turk. PICTURE BOOK. Random House Children's Books (Penguin Random House), 2025. $19. 9780593480366

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL (4-6), MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

A cento poem is a patchwork of lines and phrases from other poems stitched together to create something new. A Forest Song reimagines dozens of poems together in a beautiful tribute to the wonder and glory of the wilderness.

Even though the official audience is listed as ages 4-8, I could see this being used as an example text all the way up through high school, demonstrating how to tie different pieces of poems together into something new. The artwork is colorful and beautiful, pairing so nicely with the powerful words. So, even though I could see how it can be used at every grade level, I don’t think kids will pick it up themselves (or necessarily recognize the original poetic references). This will have to be a book taught by teachers to make it fully accessible. The artwork is great though, and will catch the eye, even if they don’t understand the full weight of the text.

Kiera, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes