A WORLD OF WONDERS

In catchy, clever verse, the prolific Lewis (Earth and You: A Closer View, not reviewed, etc.) plays with place names, marvels at the journeys of several explorers, goes “Island Hopping,” gads about the cities of Europe, even provides mnemonics to distinguish stalagmites from stalactites, and latitude from longitude—“Lines of latitude / Have a f l a t i t u d e. / Longitudinal lines / Rise like porcupines.” The crackle finish on Jay’s smoothly brushed artwork seems a bit mannered, but she adds plenty of imaginative visual twists to the poems; while the Red, Yellow, and Black Seas, for instance, flow out of oil-paint tubes, the Dead Sea comes from a salt shaker, and the Poles, described as “continental / Plates of white ice cream,” are each capped by a jauntily-angled cookie. Lewis closes on an earnest note, urging readers to “Walk Lightly” upon the Earth. Young globetrotters and armchair travelers alike will happily climb aboard for the ride: “Go by yourself or invite a good friend / But traveling by poem is what I recommend.” (Poetry. 8-11)