MUSIC AND DRUM

An eclectic collection of poems about war and peace; some by well-known poets and others by children, many of whom have had firsthand experiences of war. The book opens with the now-familiar words of Chief Joseph of the Nez PercÇ Tribe: ``Hear me, my warriors: my heart is sick and sad./From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever!'' War has stolen the childhood of 16-year-old Fionnuala Bogues of Belfast, Ireland: ``What about my wasted childhood,/Can you bring it back again?'' A Korean child recalls ``the friend I met while running from the war,'' who in memory has become dearer than any other. One of the most moving selections is by an unknown child from a concentration camp—``what I want to sing about,/That the world is full of loveliness.'' Selections by Langston Hughes (``And life for me ain't been no crystal stair'') and Lucille Clifton (`` `Walk tall in the world,' says Mama to Everett Anderson'') are connected to the main theme mostly by the ghostly, digitally manipulated photograph of a happy Asian mother and son next to a fortress-like wall. Throughout this poignant anthology, the emotional impact of the poetry is extended by newcomer Lill's art. (Picture book/poetry. 5-7)