Amazing things happen on the page when giants write and illustrate for little people. This volume collects and arranges the poetry of Ted Hughes by subject and degree of complexity. Considerately edited, poems sit right next to Briggs’s charcoal drawings, which wryly illustrate them. Subject matter of the verse—animals, “my folks,” planets and the seasons—offers much to ponder for inquisitive minds and for teachers who wish to integrate poetry with their content area instruction. Hughes’s love of monsters can connect to the work of Roald Dahl and allows for much imaginative—and literary—exploration. For educators, the word that best describes this collection is lagniappe. Young readers will find much to fall in love with, to read and re-read and to read aloud. A necessary antidote for today’s youngster who might be missing out on an affirmation of youth and innocence as well as an experience of complex, playful lyrics composed by a master of word music. (Poetry. 8+)
