A wee paean to the glories of nature, in an accessible format. There are very few words, lightly rhymed and slightly clunky: I love our Earth / when summer stars flicker, / and autumn leaves flame, / when winter flakes blow, / and spring blossoms show. The photographs, however, show several strengths. Each spread comprises a nature photo occupying a page plus half the facing page: mountain, sunset, ocean, snow. The other half-page contains the text and a small photo of a child, alone or with an adult. Each one of the pictures featuring a child invokes a color or a tone from the facing nature image, as when a ruddy moppet's green t-shirt picks up the great green of a meadow. Ecology for the very young.

I love our Earth... / where green grasses ripple, / and gray mountains rise....

PreS-Gr 1-Martin's simple poem celebrates the colors of varied landscapes and the glories of the seasons. Each line of text appears on half a page, under a photo of a child. The rest of each spread is devoted to a panoramic vista. The boys and girls, of varying ages, come from many racial and ethnic groups from around the globe. The jacket flap notes that Lipow took his photos on five continents. However, no information about any of the locales is included in captions or in the endnotes. This omission limits the title's possibilities as a springboard for further exploration and discussion. The book might serve as an introductory read-aloud choice for very young children on occasions such as Earth Day, but its range is limited. G. Brian Karas couples his celebration of Earth's wonders with basic science in On Earth (Penguin, 2005). Judith Nicholls's compilation of earth-related poems in The Sun in Me (Barefoot, 2003) includes a variety of styles -Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.