Ruthie Rose's Big Idea: A Poetry Story

From the New York Times bestselling John Schu comes a celebration of poetry and possibilities that follows a child who sparks to life a special space in her school for exploring ideas of all kinds.

Ruthie Rose wakes up with an idea.
A big, bright, beautiful idea.

An idea so great! An idea so grand! Ruthie Rose can't wait to share it with her idea-loving librarian, her art teacher, and her best friend. As the idea gets shared, it sparkles through her classmates, shouts down the hallway, and echoes over the playground. It invites everyone in the school, including YOU. John Schu's effervescent prose is complemented by Holly Hatam's vibrant artwork in clear, vivid colors, depicting a cast of adorable characters. Collaged throughout the artwork are intriguing snippets of language and lines from classic poems, sure to inspire young poetry lovers to discover more.

Author: John Schu
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 03/04/2025
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.20h x 10.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781536226492
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2025
Publishers Weekly 03/03/2025

About the Author
John Schu is the author of the picture books This Is a School, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, and This Is a Story, illustrated by Lauren Castillo, as well as the young adult novel Louder Than Hunger. He is also a children's librarian at Bookelicious and a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University. He was previously the Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs and has worked as a classroom teacher and school librarian. He travels all over the world visiting schools and meeting with students, teachers, and administrators as he advocates for the people and things he cares about most: kids, books, schools, and the libraries--and librarians--that connect them. John Schu lives in Naperville, Illinois. You can find his popular blog, Watch. Connect. Read., at www.JohnSchu.com and follow him @MrSchuReads.

Holly Hatam is an artist and author who has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. Even as a kid, she held art gallery openings in her tiny bedroom and charged her family a whopping twenty-five-cent admission fee! Today she is an author and illustrator working in bookmaking and animation. Best known for the #1 New York Times best-selling books Dear Girl and Dear Boy by Paris Rosenthal and Jason B. Rosenthal, Holly Hatam has worked on more than thirty books, both as an illustrator and as an author. She lives in Waterloo, Ontario. You can find her at hollyhatam.com and on Instagram @hollyhatamillustration.