Judges' comments for the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

A brilliant play of light and language from one of our most serious translators. How lovely that another great mind turns out to be a great children's book writer. The Wishing Bone combined some of the pyrotechnics of Lewis Carroll with the gentle whimsy of A.A. Milne. Add a touch of Nash, a dash of Parker, a splash of Zen, and you've got this year's Lee Bennett Hopkins winner."

"Stephen Mitchell's fresh and inventive lyric and narrative children's poems are vastly entertaining and utterly accessible to children. They reveal greater complexities with each rereading, and their poetic integrity serves as a model for high-quality children's verse. Their surfaces and music are often whimsical, but their insights are profound. They provide pleasure in the humor and playfulness of their language, and also raise important questions about mortality and religious belief—not in some conclusive, didactic way, but in a way that keeps such questions questions. The title poem, for instance, is both about the joy of wishing and the importance of wishing as an imaginative act, but ultimately it reminds us that the value of wishes lies precisely in the limitations of wish-fulfillment. Thought-provoking, fun verse with poetic integrity to boot. What more could one ask for in a volume of children's poems?"

"The Wishing Bone is filled with playful language and is beautifully designed with words that engage the reader. It is destined to become a children's classic."

Reviews

This wonderfully alive and inventive collection of nine poems is a visual and verbal tour de force. Together poet and artist convey life’s mysteries…. The poignant and meaningful is no less impressive than the ridiculous…. As in the final poem, the engaged reader will find herself “released, rejoisterous…and [feeling] rounder than a pea.”
— The Horn Book Magazine

The first time I read The Wishing Bone and Other Poems I was struck by its old-timey feel. The watercolor and ink illustrations by Tom Pohrt are reminiscent of Kate Greenaway’s pictures, and the playful, unusual word choice — similar to the work of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll — will transport readers to another time….Such celebrations of words and their sounds are what poetry is all about.
— BookPage

The Wishing Bone could cause a smile to tug at the corners of your mouth and might even cause you to giggle a bit… These poems, which are fun to read aloud, could lead to lively discussions about dreams and wishes. Charming, whimsical illustrations by Tom Pohrt flow throughout.
— Boston Herald

Here’s a lovely piece of bookmaking that combines poems that are both whimsical and thought-provoking with delightful ink-and-watercolor pictures that spill across the pages… Interspersed are metaphysical questions (“How many inches in a year? / What makes a zero disappear?”) to balance the nonsense with ideas to make readers think. The pictures…sparkle and will lead children quickly and easily into the words.
— Booklist

Full of humor and imagination, these poems are thoughtful and far-reaching. The language is rich with alliteration, rhyme, similes, and descriptive imagery. Light and fanciful illustrations in ink and watercolor complement the whimsy of the poems. Each reading of The Wishing Bone reveals new layers of its poems, leaving readers with much to ponder.
— School Library Journal

Stephen Mitchell has written a rollicking book of poetry just for kids. The Wishing Bone and Other Poems, illustrated by Tom Pohrt, has the look and feel of a volume from an earlier time. Yet the poetry should hold the attention of modern readers, as most of the pieces embrace both humor and a sense of story.
— The Seattle Times