Wayne Thiebaud, painter
"Spend some pleasant time with the blithe and irrepressible spirits reflected in these poems and paintings created by young minds."


Gary Snyder, Pulitzer prize-winning poet
"These selections of the best of the best give us pleasure and hope."


Book Description
Water is the inspiration for the River of Words contest, an annual challenge that highlights the art and poetry created by children from all over the world. River of Words: Images and Poetry in Praise of Water offers a powerful selection of the finest work from the contest’s first six years. With selections by children from places as diverse as Azerbaijan and the U.S., China and Ivory Coast, as well as Thailand and the Ukraine, it is colorful and passionate evidence of fertile minds creating fertile visions of the world. From the hearts and minds of children come expressions of pure joy and exultation, as well as sorrow and longing, all inspired by water. River of Words is proof that children have the capacity to be intelligent, articulate, caring, creative, humorous, inventive and most of all, passionate. For many adults, busy in their day to day lives, how could we not feel a pang of envy for those heady times, when, as children, the natural world was what it has always been, a wonderful place full of discovery.


From the Publisher
River of Words, the organization, was born in 1995, a collaboration between then U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass and California writer Pamela Michael. River of Words is an independent, non-profit education organization providing workshops and curriculum training for a variety of educators and institutions. For six years they have sponsored a free poetry and art contest offering winners and their families an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C., to be honored at the Library of Congress. The poetry is judged by Robert Hass, and the art by author and illustrator Thacher Hurd.


About the Author
Pamela Michael is the executive director and co-founder of River of Words. Her work in education has included curriculum development for the Discovery Channel and designing rural learning programs for Save the Children in Egypt. She is the former director of the United Nations’ Task Force on Media and Education. Michael hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, "The Animal Show," as well as a monthly travel show. In addition to teacher training workshops and presentations for River of Words, she leads creative writing workshops.

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