DEAR UGLY SISTERS

British poet Mucha reaches for quirk in this debut collection for children.

Like many a children’s anthology, the collection is replete with poems addressing a diverse range of topics and artistic forms interspersed with explanatory notes. Where many of this ilk are almost entirely humorous, however, some of Mucha’s poems take darker or more plaintive, even existential tones and are enlivened by an oh-so-characteristically British dryness rather than, say, poop jokes. As the title suggests, some poems are fairy-tale reboots, but others tackle contemporary social issues or render the banalities of life in vividly muddled color; still others are so absurd that they seem lifted directly from the more bizarre corners of the internet. From “Alien Dictionary”: “LEAVES are dropped by tall, / one-legged creatures (known as TREES) / when they are sad.” A consistent style, verging on pretentious in its deliberately constructed artistry, is more or less maintained throughout. Some poems seem almost to be trying too hard to be topical, aesthetic, or funny, whereas others, which lay out their core emotions in simple, frank terms, are far more genuinely moving and beautiful. On “The Lonely Side of the Moon,” a fictional Michael Collins muses: “Billions / (plus two) / on the other / side. But over / here, it’s just         me / and radio / silence.” Rex’s black-and-white illustrations are mostly decorative but at their best add their own whimsical notes.

Children who enjoy poetry will almost certainly find something in the work that resonates.