Woods & Words

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Co-Authors / Illustrators
Age Range
4+
Release Date
April 01, 2025
ISBN
978-1665921855
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A Stonewall Children’s Literature Award Honor Book

This inspiring and enriching picture book biography explores the life and work of beloved poet Mary Oliver in its own uniquely lyrical way, shining a light on Mary’s belief that there are treasures and poems all around us in nature waiting to be discovered.

Young Mary Oliver spent all the time she could outdoors noticing natural wonders like alluring birdsong, velvety leaves, and glittering beams of sunlight. There were treasures all around if you paid attention. Eventually, she began writing about those treasures, filling up stacks of notebooks and capturing the world around her. There were always poems if you paid attention.

As Mary grew up and gained acclaim for her poetry, some critics said her poems were too simple, too ordinary. But Mary believed poems were for everyone. So she wrapped herself in woods and in woods, and kept on searching for what else and where else a poem might be…

Editor review

1 review
Inspiring and Biographical Ode to a Poet
(Updated: May 31, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.7
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0
Learning Value
 
5.0
Woods & Words is an inspiring and contemplative biography of poet Mary Oliver, with a focus on nature and the solace Mary found there throughout her life. Key moments include childhood escapes to scribble poems in the woods, meeting her love Molly, seaside days, creatively making ends meet during hard times, and strangers finding joy in her sometimes seemingly simple poetry.

Nature is front and center, with lush illustrations of woods and thickets and other scenes displaying just some of the beauty Mary strove to capture in her writing. Mary truly feels at home in these pockets of wilderness, and that peace runs through the entire story, although there's certainly hints of struggle behind the scenes. Young Mary sought solace in the woods, which alludes to her troubled home life, and the pages depict many many years of Mary writing before achieving literary success.

Pick this up for a biography and an inspiration to aspiring poets to explore the world, pencil and paper in hand.
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