THE EARTH IS PAINTED GREEN

A veteran author and illustrator bring their common interest in nature to a beautiful anthology of high-quality poetry: 91 poems from such as Roethke, Sandburg, Ciardi, Merriam, Millay, and Zolotow and from Leila and Tanya Dreskin (ages 5 and 7), plus several haiku and Native American songs. Though the table of contents offers a logical seasonal arrangement, many poems don't fit their categories: e.g., only a few selections in the ``Planting Green'' section have anything to do with cultivation, while ``Maple Sweet'' surely doesn't belong among the fall poems. Schindler alternates two styles in his watercolors: one detailed enough for a field guide, the other a more generic rendering in which humans, in particular, are almost cartoonish. Juxtaposed, as they frequently are, the contrast can be jarring. Still, a useful and attractive volume, informed by a sensibility similar to the one that inspired Anne Harvey's Shades of Green (1992), but visually more lavish and accessible to younger children. Indexes of authors, titles, and first lines; acknowledgements are adequate, but a full list of sources would have been more useful. Crediting editors and designers is a nice touch. (Poetry. 7+)