HOLIDAY STEW

This celebration of almost every event in a child’s life is arranged by the four seasons. Over 80 poems observe holidays such as Ramadan, Passover, Chinese New Year and Cinco de Mayo. “It’s Labor Day” begins, “A holiday for hard work? / Yes, grown-ups, you deserve it! / But thank you very kindly / for letting kids observe it.” Topics include spring-cleaning the city streets, seasonal games, daylight savings time and Teacher Appreciation Day. Each overstuffed page features cartoon-like drawings that are busy and at times overwhelm the writing. Uneven cadence mars some of the poetry, but, on the whole, the writing is breezy and fits the illustrations. Children will have fun reciting the poems and sharing in reading the notes, jokes and two-line poems that decorate the margins. (Poetry. 6-8)