Continuing their series of poetic evocations of the natural world, Singer and So present 19 poems about fire, this time printing in a curving, delicate red font and choosing a powerful red for the illustrations. By combining linocut with wash, So manages both bold and wispy effects, much like fire itself. Singer, who has sung water and earth in the earlier collections, has a sure hand, although somehow these poems are slightly less of a treasure than the others. In “Fire-Bringers,” she posits the power of the person chosen to carry the fire from Stone Age camp to camp; she muses on the “peculiar party” that happens when neighbors gather to watch an old house burn in “Landmark.” Firefighters, fireflies, roasted marshmallows, even a chili pepper get their due. In “Holidays,” she notes with keen insight the connection of holidays to fire: menorahs, luminarias, paper lanterns, fireworks. Its engaging design will surely entice readers to open and read, perhaps in front of their own candle, hearth, or stove. (Poetry. 7-11)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-375-82912-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2004
With an eye toward easy memorization, Katz gathers over 50 short poems from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Valerie Worth, Jack Prelutsky, and Lewis Carroll, to such anonymous gems as “The Burp”—“Pardon me for being rude. / It was not me, it was my food. / It got so lonely down below, / it just popped up to say hello.” Katz includes five of her own verses, and promotes an evident newcomer, Emily George, with four entries. Hafner surrounds every selection with fine-lined cartoons, mostly of animals and children engaged in play, reading, or other familiar activities. Amid the ranks of similar collections, this shiny-faced newcomer may not stand out—but neither will it drift to the bottom of the class. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-525-47172-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
A dozen familiar dinosaurs introduce themselves in verse in this uninspired, if colorful, new animal gallery from the authors of Commotion in the Ocean (2000). Smiling, usually toothily, and sporting an array of diamonds, lightning bolts, spikes and tiger stripes, the garishly colored dinosaurs make an eye-catching show, but their comments seldom measure up to their appearance: “I’m a swimming reptile, / I dive down in the sea. / And when I spot a yummy squid, / I eat it up with glee!” (“Ichthyosaurus”) Next to the likes of Kevin Crotty’s Dinosongs (2000), illustrated by Kurt Vargo, or Jack Prelutsky’s classic Tyrannosaurus Was A Beast (1988), illustrated by Arnold Lobel, there’s not much here to roar about. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-58925-044-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2005
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