Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)
Written to be read aloud by two readers, this Newbery Medal winner abounds with insect sounds and doings. Watch for the book lice whose taste ranges from Schiller to thrillers. 1992 (orig. 1988), HarperCollins, $14.95, $14.89 and $3.95. Ages 8 to 13.

David Larson (The Five Owls, July/August 1988 (Vol. 2, No. 6))
Like its predecessor, I Am Phoenix (1985), Paul Fleischman's newest collection features poems that "were written to be read aloud by two readers at once." Fleischman uses these two voices in a variety of ways. Sometimes the readers merely volley identical lines. In other situations, the voices exchange contrasting points of view or even speak different lines simultaneously. Because of this unique configuration, Fleischman's work is distinguished from some other forms of poetry. Whie most poetry can be appreciated by solitary, silent readers, Fleischman's poems demand to be read aloud. That the words are not intended for private study is clear from the subtitle, Poems for Two Voices. But also, with the exception of "Fireflies," the poems in Joyful Noise lack the vivid visual images that lend themselves to individual contemplation. Instead, Fleischman's essential images are aural. Not only are the sounds of individual words important, but even more, it is the effect of the dialogic interplay between the dual voices that is primary. These interwoven exchanges cannot be recreated satisfactorily by an isolated reader. Fleischman successfully takes advantage of the dual voices in two ways. At times, in dramatic form, the two voices represent distinct characters. In "Honeybees," for instance, while one voice intimates the blessings of the queen bee's life, the parallel voice drones about the drudgery of a worker's existence: I'm loved and I'm lauded, I'm outranked by none. Then I pack combs with pollen--not my idea of fun. When I've done enough laying Then, weary, I strive I retire to patch up any cracks in the hive. for the rest of the day. In other poems, Fleischman uses the readers' voices to create sonic images. In "Whirligig Beetles," for instance, the cacophony created by the overlapping voices elicits the random, atom-like motion of the colliding beetles. Here the sound-picture is more effective than any visual image. This aural emphasis might suggest the employment of musical settings to augment the effect of the words. One could imagine, say, chirping percussion instruments accompanying the performance of "Crickets." Though the poems could be understood and enjoyed by young children, the performance of these poems requires a fair amount of reading skill or patient rehearsal. Not that public performance is essential. It can be wonderful fun to read these poems aloud with a loved one and listen. 1988, Harper & Row, $11.95. Ages all.