Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Gathered by the United States children's poet laureate, 200 (mostly) lighthearted poems from the likes of Basho and Ben Franklin, Leadbelly, Jack Prelutsky and Joyce Sidman share space with eye-popping animal photographs. A well-stirred mix of old and recent limericks, haiku, short lyrics, shaped poems and free verse, the poetry ranges far and wide. There are rib ticklers like Gelett Burgess' "Purple Cow" and Laura E. Richards' "Eletelephony" (the latter's line "Howe'er it was, he got his trunk / Entangled in the telephunk" dated in these days of cellphones but still hilarious to read, especially aloud). Others are more serious, such as Tracie Vaughn Zimmer's graceful tribute to an indoor centipede--"a ballet of legs / gliding / skating / skimming / across the stage of white porcelain"--and David McCord's elegiac "Cocoon." All are placed on or next to page after page of riveting wildlife portraits (with discreet identifying labels), from a ground-level view of a towering elephant to a rare shot of a butterfly perched atop a turtle. Other standouts include a dramatic spray of white egret plumage against a black background and a precipitous bug's-eye look down a bullfrog's throat. Lewis adds advice for budding animal poets to the excellent bibliography and multiple indexes at the end. A spectacular collection--"And," the editor notes with remarkable understatement, "the pictures are pretty nice too!" (Poetry. 7-12)

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Creatures great and small are revered in this handsome, oversize collection of animal poetry and showstopping color photographs. The poems in various forms range from silly to contemplative; contributors include classic adult poets such as Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, as well as well-known contemporary children's writers. Writing prompts and information on poetic forms are appended. Reading list. Ind.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gathered by the United States children's poet laureate, 200 (mostly) lighthearted poems from the likes of Basho and Ben Franklin, Leadbelly, Jack Prelutsky and Joyce Sidman share space with eye-popping animal photographs. A well-stirred mix of old and recent limericks, haiku, short lyrics, shaped poems and free verse, the poetry ranges far and wide. There are rib ticklers like Gelett Burgess' "Purple Cow" and Laura E. Richards' "Eletelephony" (the latter's line "Howe'er it was, he got his trunk / Entangled in the telephunk" dated in these days of cellphones but still hilarious to read, especially aloud). Others are more serious, such as Tracie Vaughn Zimmer's graceful tribute to an indoor centipede--"a ballet of legs / gliding / skating / skimming / across the stage of white porcelain"--and David McCord's elegiac "Cocoon." All are placed on or next to page after page of riveting wildlife portraits (with discreet identifying labels), from a ground-level view of a towering elephant to a rare shot of a butterfly perched atop a turtle. Other standouts include a dramatic spray of white egret plumage against a black background and a precipitous bug's-eye look down a bullfrog's throat. Lewis adds advice for budding animal poets to the excellent bibliography and multiple indexes at the end. A spectacular collection--"And," the editor notes with remarkable understatement, "the pictures are pretty nice too!" (Poetry. 7-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gorgeous, full-bleed photographs of wild and domesticated animals accompany animal-focused poems ranging from classic works to the writings of modern children-s poets. Lewis creates compelling juxtapositions on each page-the Navajo poem -Song of a Bear- appears next to Jane Yolen-s -Grandpa Bear-s Lullaby,- and a dense school of Bali sardines, described as -ballerinas of the blue- in the accompanying haiku, almost resemble a shimmering tutu. The tone can vary from silly to sublime and sad: -Those who saw the buffaloes are gone./ And the buffaloes are gone,- laments Carl Sandburg-s -Buffalo Dusk.- The imagery and verse delight in equal parts in this engrossing celebration of animals in nature, the backyard, and in the imagination. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)