RING OF EARTH

Four poems in the voices of animals associated with the seasons: "Winter Song of the Weasel," spring peeper, dragonfly, goose—with notes on relevant natural history and elaborate watercolor illustrations. Unfortunately, Yolen's text is labored and wooden: "Winter ponds wear skins of bright/hardened ice that shows no light./I see no fish beneath the sheen./What was once cannot be seen/in winter."—the words don't illuminate the ideas. Wallner's illustrations are complex montages of vignettes, background, and decorative arrangements; in detail they are charming; in the aggregate the effect is busy, although it's a fair representation of nature's kaleidoscope. A disappointing contribution from two talented artists, this will be useful in school libraries when books on seasons are in demand.