These bold and energetic verses and colorful illustrations are admirably suited to their target audience of kindergarten and nursery-school children, who will meet in these pages many of the objects they will discover in their classrooms. Moreover, by personifying these objects, and introducing word play and figurative language, these verses will also create delight in the playfulness and multiple meanings of words. “Letters,” for example: “They stand in line from A to Z, / longing to be wild and free, / to fly away like breezy birds . . . / in flocks of words!” Or “Blocks”: “They mumble, fumble, / climb from their jumble. / Up they scramble! / Then grumble when they / tumble.” Carter’s three-dimensional pictures made with foam board, plaster, and acrylic paints practically jump off the pages, like the personified objects they represent, ready to get down on the floor and play with a crowd of busy little folks. What fun! (Poetry/picture book. 3-6)
