Thirty-six verses, old and new, about the natural world are found in this British import. Contemporary poets rub elbows with such legends as William Blake and John Milton in Cooling's nicely edited collection. The range of subjects and poetic forms is equally impressive, and the poems flow in a kind of narrative. The first poem, which lends the book its title, finds a mother wishing her baby all the beauties of nature. Poems about the sun, a forest, a single tree, a pond, the ocean and birds of all varieties and habits follow. Ogden Nash delights with his wry "Song of the Open Road": "I think that I shall never see / A billboard lovely as a tree. / Perhaps, unless the billboards fall / I'll never see a tree at all." Seals, whales, elephants and rabbits are some of the other creatures included. The final poem, "Natural Anthem," ends with the lines, "God save / Our / Green." Grobler's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations are quiet and beautifully rendered, like settings for fine gems. Marvelous and evergreen. (thumbnail bios) (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)
