THE LITTLE BOOK OF POEMS
edited by Caroline Walsh & illustrated by Gilly Marklew
An attractive small (7'' x 6'') volume of 26 poems, many very familiar (Farjeon, de la Mare), but with some charming surprises (Dorothy Wordsworth; an evocative ``Watching You Skating,'' by Adrian Mitchell). Most are of high quality, though Frances Frost's ``Dandelions'' is relatively undistinguished, and William Jay Smith's ``Unicorn'' must be here for its subject. The range in difficulty is also great: Blake's ``Ah! Sunflower'' (``...Where the Youth pined away with desire,/And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow/Arise from their graves,...'') is an odd companion to Stevenson's ``Happy Thought.'' But Marklew's delicate, realistic watercolors are full of charm and good cheer- -the mischievous child who gleefully confides ``I have eaten/the plums'' (``This Is Just to Say,'' by William Carlos Williams) is enchanting. A little miscellaneous, but a book worth rediscovering at different ages. In the same format, Walsh's The Little Book of Prayers (nondenominational and Christian), illustrated by Inga Moore (ISBN: 1-85697-888-5). Index. (Poetry/Picture book. 4+)