3 out of 4 stars
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The pages of Finding Their Way Home by Brenda Baker explode with a delightful mix of heartwarming rhymes and thoughtful free verse prose. Baker’s poems describe a range of themes including motherhood, romantic love, parenting, hurt, abuse, and betrayal. The book also contains poetry that depicts the glory of nature, important people in the poet’s life, and the quiet spaces of illusory places.
I like reading poetry books because poetry is one of the most diverse forms of self-expression. Each poet writes in a different style and uniquely portrays their experiences and inspirations. Baker’s poems closely resemble song lyrics and stories. This is what I like most about the book. Some of her poems contain a repeated phrase in each verse. This is similar to a chorus in a song. This can be seen in the poem entitled Pitchers. One line in this poem also mentions a ranch. I was immediately reminded of a country song. In another poem called Dreams Apart, informal language is used such as ‘fightin’ instead of ‘fighting’. It depicts a shattered romance and I found it is similar to a pop song. However, the poems that are written like fables are my absolute favorite. For example, in Ruby the Red Maple, Baker describes a stubborn maple sapling who refuses to change into her winter coat because she loves her beautiful dress of red leaves. In this poem, the seasons (autumn and winter) are depicted as queens, and the trees change their attire when a new queen is about to reign.
I also like that some of her poems emphasize the importance of family. One poem portrays her grandparents’ love story. The poem is called My Ada and it describes a poor fisherman named Charlie and a Frenchwoman named Ada who marry despite being mocked by others. This is a touching tribute to her grandparents. I appreciate that the poet included this poem in her book because it gives me an insight into her life and her ancestry. Another family-oriented poem is called My Gift to You. It is one of the most heartwarming poems I’ve ever read and it is written from the perspective of a mother to her newborn baby.
Although I am pleased that images accompanied some of the poems in the book, the use of colored and non-colored pictures is inconsistent. The majority of the images are black and white but a few are in color such as the pink tree on page 75. Furthermore, most of the pictures in the book have a square, grey background without a border. This made them seem like cut-and-paste images from the internet. I don’t like this aspect of the book because it makes the book less appealing.
I am happy to report that there are no grammatical or spelling errors in the entire book. However, there is one formatting error where two different font sizes are used in one poem. Once this is fixed and the images are redone, I would be happy to give it a perfect rating. As it stands, however, I am rating it 3 out of 4 stars. Finding Their Way Home will appeal to anyone who likes poetry. Women will especially find many of Baker’s poems to be very relatable. Some of the poems harbor dark themes like sexual abuse, betrayal, and illness so those who have an aversion to these subjects may not enjoy reading this book.
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Finding Their Way Home
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