FROM THE HEART

In the same delicately precise style and brilliant colors of his Bizarre Birds and Beasts (1991), Marsh paints plants and animals cleverly posed to form hearts as integral parts of the decorative designs illustrating his ``light-hearted verse'': a ram's horns (``Warm-Hearted,'' concluding, ``...I must declare that I love ewe''); the space between two hippos' open jaws (``Big-Hearted''); an autumnal pear (pair) tree (``Change of Heart''); a barbed-wired frame, dripping blood and entwined with roses, with tiny cupids to sharpen points and also offer bandaids (``Empty-Hearted''). The accompanying verses are neatly scanned and spiced with ironies, puns, and—occasionally—odd facts: ``Here's a most romantic thing; / Dragonflies mate on the wing! / When secure in their embrace, / Procreation's taking place.'' This should be a hot item in bookstores for Valentine's Day; it also suggests some creative uses for art or poetry classes. (Poetry/Picture book. YA)