A beautifully designed volume of poetry in which Myers again pairs selections from his collection of antique photographs of children, especially African American children, with his original poetry, here celebrating the bond between mother and child. Like the earlier Brown Angels (HarperCollins, 1993) and Glorious Angels (HarperCollins, 1995), Angel to Angel is an elegant book to look at. Silver border designs frame elements on every page, and the shining faces on those pages look out from photographs that are also edged in silver. Not every photograph is necessarily of a mother and child. Some, Myers notes, may be of other adult women in the children's lives. Others are of children only. "It's the feelings of love that define a relationship," the author notes in the introduction, and certainly that feeling of love, of someone loving and treasuring the child that is pictured, can be filled in by the reader. Myers's poetry evokes a wide range of moods, from contemplative to deeply loving, sassy to silly, in another book to be treasured by families. (All ages)

When he was a child, Walter Dean Myers dedicated his first poem to his mother. Forty years later, his tribute continues in this heartwarming collection of poignant verses and luminous antique photographs. Myers evokes the special bond between mother and child with the simple and timeless imagery of childhood -- a warm bed, the morning sunlight, a hissing kettle, a lazy afternoon. By turns serious, funny, and joyful, this exquisite collection is a glorious celebration of family life and love.