Seven Skies All at Once

"Kooser's picturesque poetry vividly shapes his living sky metaphors. . . A lofty concept and radiant illustrations will leave readers on cloud nine." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The skies are hanging their freshly washed--and sweepingly illustrated--clouds out to dry in Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser's celestial ode to an approaching rainstorm.

One sky unpins damp sheets of cirrus. Another wads cirrocumulus into a basket woven of sunbeams. Still others carry away armloads of altocumulus and drag moth-eaten gray blankets of stratus past. At last, a colossal cumulonimbus sweeps in, squeezing out the light to herald . . . rain! What emerges is a sky like a great green laundry basket with a rainbow for a handle. Full of wit and brilliant linguistic surprises, this poetic romp by former United States Poet Laureate Ted Kooser is as playfully theatrical as it is evocative. Matt Myers's dynamic artwork stages the weather with aplomb, capturing the distinct mood of each show-stopping sky and crafting a meteorological drama of epic proportions. Like a good, rousing rainstorm, Seven Skies All at Once calls eloquently on our senses, inviting us to pause and reflect on the ever-changing wonders all around.

Author: Ted Kooser
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 07/08/2025
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 11.02h x 9.69w x 0.39d
ISBN: 9781536229004
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/31/2025
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2025
Booklist 05/01/2025 pg. 81
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2025
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2025 pg. 46

About the Author
Ted Kooser was the US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006 and won a Pulitzer Prize for his book of poems Delights & Shadows. He is the coauthor, with Connie Wanek, of Marshmallow Clouds: Two Poets at Play among Figures of Speech, illustrated by Richard Jones, which won a Cybils Award for poetry. Ted Kooser's picture books include Bag in the Wind and The Bell in the Bridge, both illustrated by Barry Root; House Held Up by Trees, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, illustrated by Jon Klassen; and Mr. Posey's New Glasses, an International Literacy Association Children's Choice, illustrated by Daniel Duncan. Ted Kooser lives in Garland, Nebraska.

Matt Myers is the illustrator of the Infamous Ratsos chapter book series by Kara LaReau as well as the picture books Lily Leads the Way by Margi Preus, E-I-E-I-O: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm (with a Little Help from a Hen) by Judy Sierra, and Hazel the Handful by Jamie Michalak. Matt Myers lives in North Carolina.