The Rainbow Hand

American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists

Penn State University, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor

When I wrote the poems for The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children, I hoped to write a book that a child (eight or forty-eight) would want to share with a mother, maybe with a mushy little note tucked inside. Not all the poems in The Rainbow Hand are loving and sweet, though, and a few of the poems are even a bit angry at this meat loaf cook who ruins plans and nags about the messy house (as my mother still does). No one drives me crazy the way my mother can, this onion of a mother who makes me cry. But without her, who would I be?

When young readers and their mothers and fathers and uncles and aunts and teachers finish reading The Rainbow Hand, I want them to say, “Yeah, I love my crazy mother, too,” as they sit down to write a poem of their own.

Illustrated by Jennifer Hewitson
Originally published by Simon & Schuster (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Now available as a CreateSpace reprint on Amazon.com and BN.com

“In an exquisite and moving collection of poetry, Wong explores the myriad emotions connected to the word and image of ‘mother’ . . . a gift book for children to read with adults.” —Kirkus

“Like the presence of a mother’s hand, Wong’s thoughtful and reflective volume is comforting and easily accessible. The poems are solid and steady reminders of the connections between mothers and children . . . Universal love, discipline, strength, and emotion are all in evidence here.” —School Library Journal

“All of [the poems] hold a kernel of truth that readers of all ages will recognize . . . Children will find their own tangled feelings here.” —Booklist