• Age: 6 to 11
• Grade: 1 to 6

Ryan O’Brian is riding a wave of inspiration with no shoreline in sight—he can’t STOP writing poetry. In the cafeteria with french fries. In the bathroom with toothpaste. Even on the soccer field with mud! Has he reached an artistic crescendo with a sonnet on the staircase and a villanelle on the shower curtain? What next?

In this innovative, inspiring picture book, you’ll find a laugh-out-loud story poem full of hilarious antics, and, if you look carefully, you’ll discover Ryan’s own poems within the inventive illustrations. As a bonus, Ryan’s helpful guide to fifteen poetic forms and five voices invites you to challenge your own poetic imagination.

Ideal for reading aloud or acting out, here’s the perfect book to celebrate the joy of poetry and spark creative thinking. Join in the fun!

Kyrsten Brooker’s distinct, inventive illustrations have appeared in popular and award-winning picture books, such as When We Go Walking by Cari Best, Precious and the Boo Hag by Patricia C. McKissack, and Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter, which J. Patrick Lewis praised in a New York Times review saying, “Kyrsten Brooker uses collages so adroitly and with such brio that you feel like reaching in and putting an arm around each of these elegantly drawn characters.” She lives with her family in Alberta, Canada.

Kyrsten Brooker's profile page

Joan Bransfield Graham is an award-winning poet who can’t stop writing poetry. Her poems have been featured in anthologies, magazines, textbooks, and on CDs. Her books Splish Splash and Flicker Flash—shape poems about water and light—were both chosen as School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, and her poetry has been described as “ingenious,” “refreshing,” and “wonderfully evocative.” A former teacher, she lives near Los Angeles, California.

Kyrsten Brooker’s distinct, inventive illustrations have appeared in popular and award-winning picture books, such as When We Go Walking by Cari Best, Precious and the Boo Hag by Patricia C. McKissack, and Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter, which J. Patrick Lewis praised in a New York Times review saying, “Kyrsten Brooker uses collages so adroitly and with such brio that you feel like reaching in and putting an arm around each of these elegantly drawn characters.” She lives with her family in Alberta, Canada.

Joan Bransfield Graham's profile page

“Graham’s poems are masterful, demonstrating remarkable dexterity with form and meter, while simultaneously conveying the gleeful abandon with which Ryan pursues his mission…And they are complimented superbly by Kyrsten Booker’s lively collage and paint illustrations. In addition to being an exciting story about a boy who feels compelled to compose poems, Graham’s The Poem that Will Not End is also a terrific introduction to poetic forms and voices…Belongs in every classroom and school library, and in the hands of every young reader who wants to know more about poetry.” —Kenn Nesbitt, Children’s Poet Laureate

“Full of energy and humor, this is an engaging introduction to the variety and expressive use of poetry.” —Booklist

“A picture book which may have language arts teachers doing a happy dance.” —Julie Danielson, blogger Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast