Citing Picasso's Hunk of Skin as his inspiration, Herrera (Calling the Doves/El Canto de las Palomas, 1995) offers 22 poems in facing English and Spanish versions, printed over Barbour's pale, floating figures of images from Mexican folk art. Subordinating meaning to sound and rhythm, the poet writes in quick, breathless phrases that sometimes read like random lists—"I own many socks, some with wings/others Alexandrines, 6 of white beaches/ . . . & 1 skin-diving pig, Where are my sockos?' as Papi says,/one tambourine socko for your flower-vase head." Literalists may flounder, but the music comes through clearly, especially in the Spanish: " Dnde estn mis calcetas?' como dice Papi,/una calceta de pandereta para tu maceta." The voice is a child's, and while references to places in Mexico, California, and the Southwest—as well as Chechnya and Sarajevo—flicker past, it's food and family, spices, pets, and friends that recur. This is poetry to read aloud, to read quickly, to understand more with the heart than with the head. (Poetry. 12-14)

Taback adapts thirteen well-known Eastern European tales and laces them with Yiddish words and their meanings to give the tales a flavor even a shlemiel could appreciate. The brightly colored pages are filled with gently caricatured characters; occasional collaged pieces further enliven the pages. Each tale concludes with a succinct, humorous saying that sums up its essence.

Gr 6 Up--Juan Felipe Herrera has written a series of poems in both English and Spanish celebrating his childhood. The poet sizes up life, observes what's around him, revels in its tastes and smells--"I am a monkey cartoon or a chile tamal, crazy/with paisley patches, infinite flavors cinnamon &/banana ice cream, it's 3 in the afternoon...." Barbour's black-and-white drawings accompany each poem, delicately underlining its images but allowing the strong sensuality of the words to seep into readers' minds. To read the collection is to come to know the narrator who carries "the sun in my pocket, playing the gold violin/a seven-stringed branch of water & bronze...." Laughing Out Loud, I Fly joins a growing number of English/Spanish poetry collections for young people, such as Lori Carlson's Cool Salsa (Holt, 1994) and Naomi Shihab Nye's The Tree Is Older Than You Are (S & S, 1995). It offers selections from a poet's heart to savor again and again.--Kathleen Whalin, Greenwich Country Day School, CT