Winter Poems

This elegant volume presents a ``universe of sky and snow'' (John Greenleaf Whittier) in poetry and art that will warm the coldest heart. Each poem and its accompanying illustration is set in a milk-white square and surrounded by a varied background illustration of the house and countryside where Rogasky and Hyman themselves live. Progressing from the first signs of winter, when the wild geese fly with ``summer sun... on their wings,/ [and] winter in their cry'' (Rachel Field), to near-spring, when there is a ``whiff on the wind... of perhaps blossoms, perhaps green/ grass'' (Carl Sandburg), Rogasky's selection of 25 poems is wide-ranging, including Shakespeare's ``When icicles hang by the wall'' and excerpts of longer poems by Wordsworth and Hardy, as well as works by Richard Wright, Sara Teasdale and Robert Frost. Caldecott Medalist Hyman bases her exquisite paintings on ``real things,'' according to Rogasky's introduction, which further piques readers' interest by identifying the relatives and family pets featured in the art-Rogasky herself appears as the Bard's ``Greasy Joan.'' Like sun glinting on snow, this volume is dazzling. Ages 7-up. (Oct.)