Carolyn Mott Ford (Children's Literature)
This is a book of poetry, but it is much more than that because the author is teaching poetry as well as amusing young readers. Along the way he explains the various forms poems may take and also defines some terms. Opening the book is "Welcome" urging readers to romp "amongst the words" and "play amongst the phrases" and finally to "dance the dance of poetry." One interesting poem is "English Lessons" which contains many mistakes, but they are logical mistakes given the trickiness of the English language. There are two short poems, and the one titled, "How People Came to American" contains only eight letters, "Some swum." Kids will enjoy the poems dependent upon puns and the silly limericks as well. All in all, this is worthwhile book for kids who are drawn to poetry and might prove a surprising success with youngsters without an overt interest in poetry. The learning is painless, the poems are funny, and the illustrations are eye-catching. 2004, Carolrhoda Books/Learner, $16.95. Ages 7 to 10.

Patti Sylvester Spencer (Library Media Connection, August/September 2004)
If the Shel Silverstein volumes on the shelf are tattered from overuse, add this delightful new Brian Cleary book to the collection. Neal Layton's simple and silly sketches enhance Cleary's dynamic word play. Puns, limericks, haiku, etc. invite readers to try their own verses. Students are challenged with macaronic verses, using foreign language sounds. While not didactic, the volume offers sporadic definitions of literary devices/poetic types employed or illustrated in various poems. Celebrating poetry, Cleary urges: "Poems, like people, enjoy getting out-We like to be seen now and then. When books are shut tight, we don't get much light, So take us out now and again. Show us to family and share us with friends-Just don't leave us up on your shelf. And poetry's not just a spectator sport, So why don't you try some yourself?" Recommended. 2004, Carolrhoda Books (Lerner Publishing Group), 88pp., $16.95 hc. Ages 9 up.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2004 (Vol. 57, No. 8))
Cleary provides over four score poems, most of them humorous, to provide enjoyment but also to demonstrate some different ways of writing poetry. Not only does he employ a variety of verse forms and techniques, from limericks and concrete poems to villanelles and haiku, he footnotes many of the poems with explanations of the relevant technical term; sometimes footnotes give hints on how to read a poem or elicit readerly thought on matters. That combination will make this book a curricular dream, but the poetry is amusingly worthwhile in its own right. Though it's not quite up to the standards of James Stevenson or Douglas Florian--the scansion is sometimes inexact, which occasionally poses a problem in poems that are serving as examples of poetic terminology (the poem ostensibly demonstrating trochaic meter actually tips out of trochees and into iambs, for instance)--there's plenty of spring in these poetic steps. The variety will help keep the attention of those who usually shift restlessly when faced with poetry, and the playfulness of verses such as "Harry Had a Little Scam" ("Harry had a little scam./ He'd fleece you for your dough . . . ") offer readaloud and recitation pleasures to even the most irreverent youngsters. Layton's chaotic squiggles offer childlike but edgy illustration of the poems' denizens, and the restrained palette (most pages tint the black lines with only a single color, usually scribbled with haphazard gaiety over the figure) helps emphasize the lines of drawing and poetry. Those looking to expand or embark on lively poetry units will find this a useful addition. It would have been helpful to have a glossary of the poetic terms described as well, but there is an index of the definitions, as well as a title index. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Carolrhoda, 88p, $16.95. Grades 3-8.