Words with Wings and Magic Things
By Matthew Burgess
The Story
A collection of poems invites young readers through seven die-cut doorways into moods and moments — a dragon piñata, an alligator on the A train, a hungry yeti — turning everyday feelings into flights of imagination.
Why It's Special
For the kid who turns a gray afternoon into a whole adventure just by narrating it out loud, this book hands them a stack of doors marked Wonder, Wild, and Weee! and says go ahead, open one.
- Big idea: Words themselves are a kind of magic — the right ones can turn a plain moment into something worth stepping inside.
- Vibes: Playful, colorful, and a little unpredictable — part poetry collection, part pop-up adventure.
Perfect For Kids Who
- enjoy wordplay and rhyme
- like to flip through and land on favorite pages
- are working on naming and exploring different feelings
- respond well to short standalone poems instead of one long story
Ask Your Little Reader
- Imagination: If you could open your own die-cut door, what world would be waiting behind it — Wonder, Wild, or something else entirely?
- Favorites: Which poem or picture made you want to stop and read it again — the dragon piñata, the alligator on the A train, or something else?
- Feelings & empathy: The book talks about feeling blue, lemon yellow, or Day-Glo green — what color would you use for how you feel today?
- Real-life connection: Has an ordinary moment in your day ever felt a little bit magical, like the poems describe?
- Wordplay: Can you think of a silly word or rhyme of your own, like the ones in this book?
