THE BILL MARTIN JR. BIG BOOK OF POETRY

A veritable pantheon of illlustrators contributes work to this delicious collection of Martin’s favorite poems. The likes of Ashley Bryan, Chris Raschka, Lois Ehlert and more appear matched to such literary lions as Aileen Fisher, Margaret Wise Brown and Langston Hughes. Play is key here: Mary Ann Hoberman’s “The Folk Who Live in Backward Town” is presented normally, surrounded by Stephen Kellogg’s upside-down and backward illustration; the mirror image of both appears on the facing page—what a hoot! Ranging from the reflective “Hurt No Living Thing,” by Christina Rossetti, with colored-pencil illustrations by Aliki, to the raucous “O Sliver of Liver,” by Myra Cohn Livingston, illustrated by Henry Cole, the poems represent a variety of syles and moods. Arranged thematically, the anthology includes poems about animals, nature, seasons, people, school, feelings, family and food, as well as nonsense and Mother Goose rhymes. Despite the absence of an illustrator index, this comprehensive collection is top-notch. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Bill Martin, Jr. Library at Texas A&M. (title author, first line index) (Poetry anthology. 4-12)