WELCOME TO THE RIVER OF GRASS

Writing in a form that falls somewhere between free verse and rhymed prose, Yolen continues her tour of world ecosystems (Welcome to the Green House, 1993, etc.) with a catalogue of flora and fauna in Florida’s Everglades. As in the previous “Welcomes,” Regan not only portrays each leaf and creature in exact, natural detail, but expertly captures a sense of place, strongly conveying the light, the sky at different times of day, even the look and feel of the air. Though the artist does not directly depict the violence that threads through Yolen’s narrative—an osprey “with dagger beak and nail, / guts a fish / from head to tail,” a red belly turtle “comes too close— / and is alligator dinner,” a kite is “alert for the snail / which it breaks with its beak,” and so on—these two again have collaborated on an effective consciousness raiser for younger children, as evocative as it is informative. (Picture book. 5-7)