In 27 new, mostly free verses, Fletcher takes a young writer’s voice, ruminating on metaphors, plagiarism and other writerly concepts, battling writer’s block, or connecting one entry to the next. The thought, for instance, that a baby’s “little bald head / reminds me of the planet Earth” might later turn into a poem not only “feels like money in the bank,” but turns up again on the next page: “She’s bald on top / so on her North Pole / there’s mostly Arctic tundra.” Other entries picture lost poems scurrying beneath the floorboards, or fret about a grandma with a failing memory, school issues (“Bad Weather” begins: “They’re predicting a big term paper / due to arrive on Monday morning”), or whether a “Squished Squirrel” is a suitable subject. Black and white illustrations, in a range of styles from simple line drawings to what look like processed photos, add drab but atmospheric notes; the poet’s simple language and wide variety of moods and topics may help to get young writers off the stick. (Poetry. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-59078-276-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY
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Poetry and short informative paragraphs combine to celebrate both the elegance and the natural history of the American egret. Haiku, free verse, rhyming couplets and even a limerick are just some of the forms Yolen masterfully uses to engage readers on both aesthetic and scientific levels. Gorgeous photography completes this carefully designed literary science piece with scenes of the egret’s daily life. Stemple captures the egret’s movements as the light of each part of the day, from the yellow-orange glow of sunrise to midday pink to late afternoon sunset blue to evening purple, is reflected on its snow-white feathers. Both the poetry and the brief fact-filled vignettes explain how egrets walk, eat, fly and preen and how their plumes, so lace-like, were once coveted for decorating clothes and hats. A final poem muses on the future of this great wading bird in a country filled with polluted wetlands. A stunning combination of scientific and ecological knowledge offered through a graceful fusion of lyrical and visual media. (Informational picture book/poetry. 8-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-650-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S POETRY
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PLB 0-06-027940-0 Dakos’s collection of 23 poems from the perspective of items found at school satisfies the I Can Read requirements of simplicity and word repetition, but may not lure beginning readers back for a second time. The material is uninspiring: The school’s front door says, “Keep me shut,/I have the flu,/Achooooooooo!/Achooooooooo!/Achooooooooo!/Achooooooooo!/Keep me shut,/I have the flu.” A book sings “Happy Birthday” to a ruler, then sings “Happy Unbirthday” when the ruler says that it is not its birthday. Also appearing are a couple of clever items—one on a kidnapped pencil and another on a comb pulling hazardous duty—along with some typographic elements that amiably convey the idea that words are malleable; Reed’s illustrations possess geniality and character, making some inanimate objects very personable. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027939-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY
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