From a mote of dust to the Vietnam War Memorial, from a camel to a writer’s tools (pen, paper and ink), 30 short poems by nearly as many modern poets address a wide range of everyday creatures and items. Rayevsky ably captures each entry’s tone and topic by placing easily recognizable figures against broadly brushed, often semi-abstract backgrounds, and casting a muted light over each scene. As a collection, this doesn’t have enough individual identity to stand out from the crowd, but with a roster of contributors that goes from Emily Dickinson and Ogden Nash to Nikki Grimes and Dennis Lee, there should be something here to appeal to readers of nearly any preference or temperament. Possibly because the poets do speak to their subjects directly, this is billed as a companion to Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices (2001), illustrated by Melissa Sweet, in which objects themselves narrate—but the connection isn’t a particularly strong one. (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-06-052347-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2007
With an eye toward easy memorization, Katz gathers over 50 short poems from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Valerie Worth, Jack Prelutsky, and Lewis Carroll, to such anonymous gems as “The Burp”—“Pardon me for being rude. / It was not me, it was my food. / It got so lonely down below, / it just popped up to say hello.” Katz includes five of her own verses, and promotes an evident newcomer, Emily George, with four entries. Hafner surrounds every selection with fine-lined cartoons, mostly of animals and children engaged in play, reading, or other familiar activities. Amid the ranks of similar collections, this shiny-faced newcomer may not stand out—but neither will it drift to the bottom of the class. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-525-47172-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
A dozen familiar dinosaurs introduce themselves in verse in this uninspired, if colorful, new animal gallery from the authors of Commotion in the Ocean (2000). Smiling, usually toothily, and sporting an array of diamonds, lightning bolts, spikes and tiger stripes, the garishly colored dinosaurs make an eye-catching show, but their comments seldom measure up to their appearance: “I’m a swimming reptile, / I dive down in the sea. / And when I spot a yummy squid, / I eat it up with glee!” (“Ichthyosaurus”) Next to the likes of Kevin Crotty’s Dinosongs (2000), illustrated by Kurt Vargo, or Jack Prelutsky’s classic Tyrannosaurus Was A Beast (1988), illustrated by Arnold Lobel, there’s not much here to roar about. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-58925-044-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2005
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