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DRAGON POEMS

Name: DRAGON POEMS
Author: John Foster
ISBN: 0-19-276096-3

edited by John Foster & illustrated by Corky Paul ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 9, 1992

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Many of these 23 poems are new, with a sprinkling from popular contemporaries like Jack Prelutsky, Lilian Moore, and X. J. Kennedy; the point of view is largely British, and what could be more appropriate for St. George's traditional antagonist? Whether the subject is a Doctor De Soto-style vet braving fiery jaws in a flame-proof suit, a ``very tame'' pet dragon that ``only eats a few'' of the children queued up to pat him, or a ghostly green emanation curled up in a castle courtyard, invisible to all but the young narrator, the mood here is light. Paul's illustrations have Tony Ross's wicked ebullience, with witty modern allusions, gruesome details, and the endearingly fierce protagonists limned in fine, energetic lines and artfully added color that recalls Henrik Drescher. A book with uproarious visual appeal, well matched to the comical, rhythmic verse. (Poetry/Picture book. 5-11)

Pub Date: April 9, 1992

ISBN: 0-19-276096-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
A ROCKETFUL OF SPACE POEMS
edited by John Foster ; illustrated by Korky Paul

- BOOK REVIEW
DINOSAUR RAP
by John Foster ; illustrated by Debbie Harter

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I WISH I HAD A WOOKIEE

AND OTHER POEMS FOR OUR GALAXY

by Ian Doescher ; illustrated by Tim Budgen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 2021

The poet’s definitely up on his Star Wars canon, and readers had better be, too, to keep pace.

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The author of The Empire Striketh Back (2014) tries his hand at light verse.

For all that he experiments with a villanelle, a shaped poem, and other forms, overall Doescher keeps to a rolling beat as he spins out a hefty 79 poems thick with names, places, and references to events in the films and other media. “G is for Greedo, that green guy’s the worst! / H is for Han (who, with no doubt, shot first).” One poem addresses race directly (“Jeff has Poe-colored skin, / While Joseph’s more like Finn”), and another wishes that, whatever’s going on in a galaxy far, far away, “Star Peace” would come to this one. In rather odd contrast, “If I were a stormtrooper,” writes a child, “I’d practice my aim anytime there’s a break / (So I wouldn’t miss every shot that I make”). Nevertheless, in general the verses’ actual subjects tend toward conventional domestic matters, from the titular bedtime verse, which begins “I wish I had a Wookiee, / To keep the monsters out,” to little Mackenzie Hale, who “would not eat her kale.” Budgen’s ink, wash, and occasionally color scenes of licensed characters or of smiling, racially diverse children, often in costume or with licensed toys, are likewise benign. Like a celebrity tell-all, the collection is capped by an index of, mostly, characters and creatures.

The poet’s definitely up on his Star Wars canon, and readers had better be, too, to keep pace. (Poetry. 8-11)

Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-59474-962-9

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Quirk Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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AT BREAK OF DAY

by Nikki Grimes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1999

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A lovely and poetic recasting of the Biblical creation story in a modern spirit, from the versatile Grimes (My Man Blue, p. 721, etc.). Father and son create together, beginning “Once upon a time there was no time.” There are whimsical touches, e.g., the father calls the waters seas because he likes the sound of it; the stars are made of the son’s laughter, and some of them are angels in disguise. Adam and Eve appear in shimmering silhouette, and the final view of the earth echoes the glorious photographs taken from space. Morin’s illustrations make use of fabulous textures in paint and fabric; his dense collages in their dark jeweled colors include shells, beads, and needlework. Other contemporary creation stories, such as Julius Lester’s What a Truly Cool World and Caitl°n Matthews’s The Blessing Seed (both, 1998) could be used with this one for a tender trilogy. (Picture book. 4-8)