Sidman, Joyce. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. 2007. This is just to say: poems of apology and forgiveness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Joyce Sidman cleverly employs the use of many voices from a fictional sixth-grade class at Florence Scribner School. The collection is introduced by one of the book’s characters, who explains the arrangement and significance of the poems. The poems of apology presented to readers are written to a diverse assortment of recipients, from dead pets to disinterested siblings and are written for different reasons, from missing a word in the spelling bee to stealing the jelly donuts in the teachers’ lounge. The range of poem voice makes the collection feel genuine and will give readers a glimpse into the life of sixth-grade students and even teachers and other school staff members. The collection includes a variety of poetry styles including haiku, pantoums, two-part poems, snippets, and rhymes and the inclusion of responses to the apologies makes this collection of poems even more meaningful. The apologies and responses are each published in a separate section of the book, which makes reading the pairs together awkward, and may discourage the pairing of poems for readers. The whimsical pen and ink illustrations by Pamela Zagarenski complement the poems and several display a creative use of the classroom items—from a dictionary definition of apology as part of a student’s clothing to white hole reinforcements used to portray a plate of donuts. Each poem is cleverly and winningly written and invokes emotions in readers from laughter to sorrow, depending on the verse. This Is Just to Say is a book that will delight older readers and will present a clear picture of the life of middle-school aged children.