TIGERS AND OTHER LILLIES

by Howard Moss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 1977

PUSSY Willow, SnapDRAGON, HORSE Chestnut: Moss makes the playful, witty most of a limiting idea, in 27 small rhymes about plants with the names of animals. Sometimes a connection is made between the plant and its namesake (""The smell of skunk/ Is like old junk./ The skunkbrush, too/ Smells kind of punk""), sometimes not (""Horses have a reason for putting on airs;/ They wear horseshoes, and they wear two pairs.// Horse radish is a spice that tastes so hot/ You break out in a sweat if you eat a lot""); the same is true of Belli's clever, delicate line drawings. With words like ""equivocal,"" ""erratically,"" and ""genuflection,"" and references to Jackson Pollack, double acrostics, and ""One New York lioness in furs,"" one suspects that only negative qualities landed the collection on a children's list--and indeed seven of the rhymes first appeared in The New Yorker. But for that certain youngster who can tolerate the younger look and the sophisticated tone and allusions, Moss's masterly, polished light verse can be an introduction to refined amusement.

Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1977

Categories: NONFICTION