Everyone makes mistakes! The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets collects poems of various forms from twenty brave poets who share real-life blunders they made as young people…and what happened next. With gorgeous illustrations from Mercè López, each poem gives readers a look into the beautiful and sometimes painful process of growing up.
Today, authors Charles Waters and Irene Latham join us on the Lerner blog to tell readers why they chose to curate this anthology and why poetry was the best way to tell these stories. Keep reading to see a video from some of the contributors!
What is the most surprising thing you discovered while researching or writing the book?
We were touched by how brave and vulnerable the poets were about sharing the real-life mistakes they’ve made.
What do you hope readers will learn or discover from reading your book?
We hope readers can abandon any shame or embarrassment and realize that they’re not alone in making mistakes; every human does it And sometimes sharing these moments can lead to a genuine reaction like, “that sounds similar to something that happened in my life.”
What was your inspiration for the book?
Our first book together was Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship. We feel like so much of ourselves and our lives can be found in those words of the subtitle (“poems,” “race,” “mistakes,” “friendship”), so we started brainstorming projects that might give us an opportunity to explore the “mistakes” piece more deeply, Thank goodness Lerner shared our enthusiasm!
Why an anthology?
We love anthologies because of their power to reach so many different kinds of readers. When a book includes a variety of voices (in this book, there are twenty poets), it’s far more likely than any random reader will find at least one poem to connect with! And the wealth of experiences represented also provides for readers a quick opportunity to broaden their lives.
Why poetry?
Poetry is short! There’s lots of white space. It can be playful or tender or shocking, all in just a few lines. Poems can have an intense and lasting impact on a reader. #poetrypower
The Contributing Poets Say Hello
Twenty brave poets―Linda Sue Park, Margarita Engle, Allan Wolf, David Elliott, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Lacresha Berry, George Ella Lyon, Jaime Adoff, Vikram Madan, Kim Rogers, Douglas Florian, Tabatha Yeatts, Jorge Argueta, Jane Yolen, Charles Waters, JaNay Brown-Wood, Irene Latham, April Halprin Wayland, Darren Sardelli, and Naomi Shihab Nye―share real-life mistakes they made as young people in this anthology! Some of them would love to say hi to all the readers out there. Watch this video to learn about what writing their poem meant to them.
Praise for The Mistakes That Made Us
★ “The strength of this collection comes from the authors admitting their mistakes and going on to explain the value of the resulting learning opportunities. A gentle reminder of the stepping stones making up the path to growth, discovery, and creativity.” —starred, Booklist
★ “Dynamic mixed-media artwork from López (Sylvie and the Wolf) offers energetic visual support for each poem in an anthology packed with a broad spectrum of human emotion and experience.” —starred, Publishers Weekly
“Comforting reminders that nobody’s perfect, infused with lessons large and small.” — Kirkus Reviews
“An engaging, emotionally honest collection of poetry that offers children a comforting glimpse of adults and their imperfections . . . This accessible, well-tuned collection of poetry will reassure and delight young readers in equal measure.” — School Library Journal
Connect with the Authors
Irene Latham is the author of more than a dozen current and forthcoming works of poetry, fiction, and picture books. Her work includes Charlotte Huck Honor Book and ALA Notable Children’s Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship (co-written with Charles Waters) and the Caldecott Honor Book The Cat Man of Aleppo(co-written by Karim Shamsi-Basha). In 2016 she won the ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award. Visit her at http://www.irenelatham.com.
Photo Credit: Capturing Corvin Photography
Charles Waters is a children’s poet, actor, and co-author of Charlotte Huck Honor Book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship. His novel in verse, Mascot (co-written with Traci Sorell) was recognized as a Charlotte Huck Honor Book and a 2024 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book. His poems have appeared in various anthologies including One Minute Till Bedtime and The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry. Charles performs his one-person show as well as conducts poetry performance and writing workshops for elementary and middle school audiences. He lives in Georgia.
Photo by C. Dyer Photography