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.