"Some people text, some e-mail, but there's almost nothing better than getting an actual letter in the mail, especially if it's a letter poem. 'A letter poem is when you're addressing someone else,' explains poet Joyce Sidman. 'The way I write them, you're starting out saying, 'This is why I'm writing to you. This is why I'm intrigued by you. And these are the things I want to know about you.''"
"In the title poem of Sidman's new children's book, Dear Acorn, (Love, Oak), an oak tree writes a letter poem to an acorn: 'I feel you there. A tickle at my twig tips. A plump promise against my rough bark.' 'I'll stretch my arms strong and true,' the acorn writes back, 'I'll be your friend, the one who rises up beside you.' A letter poem is 'a poem to connect with someone else,' Sidman says, 'but it doesn't have to be a person.'"
Letter poems take the form of addressed messages that express curiosity, wonder, and the desire to connect with another being or object. An oak tree senses an acorn as potential and describes a tactile, anticipatory bond while the acorn promises to grow into a companion. Multiple pen pal pairs illustrate reciprocal relationships between small and large elements: a pebble and a river, a button and a coat, the ocean and baby sea turtles, a bubble and the sky. Illustrations combine hand-painted watercolor paper, collage materials, and patterned envelope interiors photocopied onto painted paper for layered texture.
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