Lifestyle
In 'Words with Wings and Magic Things,' poetry is beautifully illustrated — and fun!
‘Words with Wings and Magic Things’ by Matthew Burgess and Doug Salati, published by Tundra Books
Matthew Burgess and Doug Salati met on a blind date.
“We share the same agent,” explains Burgess. “She said, ‘You need to meet this client of mine.’” Over coffee in Brooklyn, they discovered that they both love poetry. They clicked.
Burgess is an award-winning author and poetry teacher and Salati is a Caledecott Medalist. They now have an illustrated book of poetry called Words with Wings and Magic Things.
‘Words with Wings and Magic Things’ by Matthew Burgess and Doug Salati, published by Tundra Books
“One of the ways I describe this book is Shel Silverstein meets Rumi for kids,” says Burgess, who remembers discovering Silverstein’s poetry when he was a child. “It really blew my mind in the best way because of the wordplay and the sense of fun. And then when I say Rumi for kids, there’s also this thread throughout the book that’s a little more mystical, a little quieter.”
The poems run the gamut. There’s a dragon piñata, a hungry yeti, primordial slime, a terrible, horrible idea, serious questions, dancing, and some magic tricks.
“The biggest challenge,” says Salati, “was, OK, we have so many worlds, we have so many characters … how do we bring it all together?” But it was a fun challenge, he says. “It was also, as an illustrator, a completely different form to experiment with and to play with — separate, short, tight little moments.”
A lot of the illustrations in the book are small, to allow more space for the poems. But, at the beginning of each chapter, the poems are small: Burgess wrote couplets — two-line poems. That gave Salati space to play. He created die-cut illustrations — basically an image with a hole in the page. And then when you turn the page, an image from the first drawing is carried over to the illustration on the next page.
For Burgess’s poem Wild, Salati illustrated a summer backyard evening. There’s a metal slide, a swing set, an owl and a girl peering up at the moon. The moon is the die-cut, and when you turn the page, the owl is carried over and becomes part of a new scene — a whirling, rushing stampede of all these animals in space, with stardust and galaxies behind them.
‘Words with Wings and Magic Things’ by Matthew Burgess and Doug Salati, published by Tundra Books
‘Words with Wings and Magic Things’ by Matthew Burgess and Doug Salati, published by Tundra Books
Burgess says he wanted this book to be fun. “I teach at Brooklyn College… and college students often arrive with these ideas about poetry,” he says. Like: “Poetry is hard. Poetry is about rules. Poetry is stressful because when you read a poem in school, you’re supposed to solve a riddle or say the most intelligent thing.”
But, he wants everyone to know, this is not true! Poetry can be fun.
“When you write poems with kids, you see how immediately they get this,” Matthew Burgess says. “If you read a poem aloud to kids, they start to dance in their seats.”
“What I love about this project was that it really reminded me of that time,” says Doug Salati, adding that when you’re a kid and you’re drawing on the living room floor, or writing in your diary, you’re not self-conscious. “You’re not worried so much about the product or the outcome or the finished thing. It’s the making.”
And, he and Burgess agree, making something for fun is the best kind of making there is.
‘Words with Wings and Magic Things’ by Matthew Burgess and Doug Salati, published by Tundra Books
Ariana Grande arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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The brightest stars in TV and film kicked off the 83rd annual Golden Globes tonight in Beverly Hills, Calif. with Ariana Grande, Noah Wyle, Teyana Taylor and George Clooney are just some the names who walked the red carpet. This year’s ceremony was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser.
Here’s a glimpse of what some of the attendees are wearing tonight.
Michael B. Jordan
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Ryan Coogler and Zinzi Evans
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Sara Wells and Noah Wyle
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George Clooney and Amal Clooney
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Michel Martin
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Steve Inskeep
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Leila Fadel
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A Martinez
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Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy
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Amanda Seyfried
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William Stanford Davis
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Nikki Glaser
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Dakota Fanning
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Queen Latifah
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2026 Golden Globes
Nikki Glaser Shouts Out Rob Reiner …
Dons ‘Spinal Tap’ Hat at Close of Show
Published
Rob Reiner wasn’t forgotten at this year’s Golden Globe awards … because host Nikki Glaser paid tribute to him just weeks after his murder.
Here’s the deal … during the sign-off for the awards show, Nikki came onstage wearing a black and white “Spinal Tap” hat — the band which serves as the subject of Reiner’s iconic 1984 mockumentary of the same name.
Worth noting … the Golden Globes do not typically air an in memoriam — so this was the only time Reiner was mentioned at the show.
As you know … Rob and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home last month. Their son Nick Reiner has been arrested for murder in connection to the case.
TMZ.com
Nick’s arraignment was scheduled for last week … but, his lawyer Alan Jackson dropped out of the case — leaving Nick with a public defender and new arraignment date set for late February.
Jackson told a gaggle of reporters outside the courthouse that Nick’s not guilty … but, he simply can’t defend him. He did not provide a reason for his withdrawal.
Our new documentary “TMZ Investigates The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” dives into Rob and Michele’s grisly deaths … as well as Nick’s history of mental health issues and even how his weight gain set him on a dangerous path.
“TMZ Investigates The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” is now streaming on Hulu.
On-air challenge
Today’s puzzle is called “Pet Theory.” Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word start starts PE- and the second word starts T-. (Ex. What walkways at intersections carry –> PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC)
1. Chart that lists all the chemical elements
2. Place for a partridge in “The 12 Days of Christmas”
3. Male voyeur
4. What a coach gives a team during halftime in the locker room
5. Set of questions designed to reveal your traits
6. Something combatants sign to end a war
7. Someone who works with you one-on-one with physical exercises
8. Member of the Who
9. Incisors, canines, and premolars that grow in after you’re a baby
10. Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score this at the Olympics
11. What holds the fuel in a British car
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge was a numerical one from Ed Pegg Jr., who runs the website mathpuzzle.com. Take the nine digits — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can group some of them and add arithmetic operations to get 2011 like this: 1 + 23 ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 – 8 + 9. If you do these operations in order from left to right, you get 2011. Well, 2011 was 15 years ago. Can you group some of the digits and add arithmetic symbols in a different way to make 2026? The digits from 1 to 9 need to stay in that order. I know of two different solutions, but you need to find only one of them.
Challenge answer
12 × 34 × 5 – 6 – 7 + 8 – 9 [or] 1 + 2 + 345 × 6 – 7 × 8 + 9
Winner
Daniel Abramson of Albuquerque, N.M.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from listener Ward Hartenstein. Think of a well-known couple whose names are often said in the order of _____ & _____. Seven letters in the names in total. Combine those two names, change an E to an S, and rearrange the result to name another famous duo who are widely known as _____ & _____.
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 15 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
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