A Primer About the Flag

What is a flag? Noted poet Marvin Bell and award-winning illustrator Chris Raschka offer a whimsical investigation.

We see all sorts of flags every day. But why do we have them, and what are they for? In a book at once playful and thought provoking, Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka illustrates Marvin Bell’s "A Primer about the Flag," a short poem that raises as many questions as it does flags. Whether brandishing flags that spell out an entire maritime alphabet or little flags that pop out of a gun and say BANG, whether displaying bed-and-breakfast banners or flags on the moon, here is an exploration that may inspire children who are creating their own flags, along with poetry fans and inquisitive minds of all ages.

Poems and illustrations shows different kinds of flags and what they are used for, including cemetery flags, parade flags, and flags on the moon.

The Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales teams up with Iowa's Poet Laureate in a poetic tribute to the cultural significance of flags that depicts them in a variety of imaginative scenarios while inviting youngsters to create their own.