Thanksgiving Poems

Livingston's fame as a poet matches her renown as an anthologist of such lauded collections as Christmas Poems, Easter Poems and others. Her new volume is superbly illustrated by Gammell in autumnal hues and in scenes tuned into the lyrics' range of mood: contemplative, comic and reverent. Among the entries are songs from the Osage and Navajo nations; a psalm from the King James Bible; lines expressing the joys and thanks of an immigrant; evocations of the first Thanksgiving in America. Kids will appreciate them all and surely twig to Jane Yolen's assertive little girl, gripping her fork and mulling over her virtues in ""Pass the Plate.'' Her homework's neat, she's fed the dog, made her bed; she wants her turkey and trimmings now and her ``just desserts'': ``Who else here is more deserving?'' (58)