Arnold’s awards: most recently, an American Library Association Notable citation for “Street Music” and an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults citation for “Slow Dance Heartbreak Blues.” His latest book,”Love Letters,” has received a Blue Ribbon Award from the “Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books” and is a “Riverbank Review” Children’s Book of Distinction. Forthcoming collections of his poems are titled “Touch the Poem,” illustrated by Lisa Desimini, “The Basket Counts,” and “Jazzicals…”. In 1988, Arnold Adoff was awarded, for the body of his work, the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.

“I began writing for kids because I wanted to effect a change in American society. I continue in that spirit. By the time we reach adulthood, we are closed and set in our attitudes. The chances of a poet reaching us are very slim. But I can open a child’s imagination, develop his appetite for poetry, and more importantly, show him that poetry is a natural part of everyday life. We all need someone to point out that the emperor is wearing no clothes. That’s the poet’s job.”
Arnold Adoff