Rhyme Time

A plethora of poetry books arrive just in time for National Poetry Month. Now available in a board book edition, A Child's Garden of Verses, compiled by Cooper Edens, pairs eight of Robert Louis Stevenson's poems with turn-of-the-century illustrations to captivate a child's imagination. For instance, "Happy Thought" ("The world is so full of a number of things,/ I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings") is embedded like a placard within a pen-and-ink by E. Mars (1900), while opposite, a 1940 illustration by Ruth Mary Hallock depicts a happy assembly of children and kittens, gathering for a snack break after a game of croquet. (Chronicle, $6.95 20p ages 6 mos.-4 yrs. ISBN 0-8118-4168-5; Mar.)

A reissue of Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young, edited by Jack Prelutsky, illus. by Marc Brown, gathers more than 200 poems. Of the original, first published in 1986, PW wrote, "Page after page of winter rhymes, pet poems and bedtime fancies, here is a book that could inspire a lifetime love of the lilting tones of favorite poets. Brown's pictures spill over with robust children, woeful or willful animals, and not-very-scary monsters wearing sometimes sheepish, other times exuberant expressions." (Knopf, $19.95 112p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-394-87218-5; Mar.)

A devilish collection of rhymes, Creature Carnival by Marilyn Singer, illus. by Gris Grimly, the pair behind Monster Museum, leads readers through a festival of mythological proportions, with attractions such as the Sphinx ("If she's lyin'/ like a lion/ but she's acting/ like a minx,/ She's a sphinx") and Godzilla ("Fateful day,/ Atomic ray./ Dino mutation,/ Terrified nation"). Singer's irreverent poems once again inspire Grisly's signature brand of fiendishly macabre illustrations. (Hyperion, $15.99 40p ages 5-9 ISBN 0-7868-1877-8; Apr.)

Silly rhymes in Scien-Trickery: Riddles in Science by J. Patrick Lewis, illus. by Frank Remkiewicz, a companion to Arithme-Tickle, offer basic scientific knowledge for curious readers in poems that are both educational and entertaining. For "A Threat of Sweat," Lewis writes, "Whenever you visit Miami/ What is it that makes you so clammy?" The upside-down answer: "Humidity." (Harcourt/Silver Whistle, $16 32p ages 6-9 ISBN 0-15-216681-5; Apr.)

From Eleanor Farjeon's "Waking up" to Sara Teasdale's "Night," 30 inspiring poems chart the day in Hello Sunshine, Good Night Moonlight: Favorite Poems to Take You Through the Day, illus. by John Wallace. Featured poets include Bobbi Katz, Robert Louis Stevenson and Molly Bang, among many others, and offer thematic impetus for Wallace's pastel-toned illustrations, teeming with cheery toddlers and animals exploring the world and at play. (Abrams, $14.95 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-8109-4834-6; Mar.)

An international mix of poets contribute works to Come to the Great World: Poems from Around the Globe, edited by Wendy Cooling, illus. by Sheila Moxley. Traditional Maori and Inuit chants, as well as works by Caribbean, Asian, Australian, American and European poets make for a well-rounded collection that offer a taste of exotic fruits (quite literally, in "Fruits" by Jamaican-American poet Opal Palmer Adisa). Moxley's illustrations, such as the painting for the Trinidad-Canadian poet, Dionne Brand's "Skipping Rope Song" vibrantly represent the array of cultures and scenes, emphasizing both their unique qualities and the universal experiences of childhood. (Holiday, $16.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-8234-1822-7; Mar.)

Grandparent Poems, edited by John Micklos Jr., illus. by Layne Johnson, celebrates intergenerational love. In the third such compilation (Daddy Poems;Mommy Poems), the poems portray treasured moments with grandma or grandpa and recall fond memories or the feelings of loss for grandparents no longer present. (Boyds Mills/Windsong, $15.95 32p ages 5-up ISBN 1-56397-900-4; Mar.)

Poetry in Motion

Writers of all ages wax poetic in these collections. Children in grades two to 12 express their inner musings, discoveries and observations in Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems by Young People, compiled by Sandford Lyne, illus. by Julie Monks. A companion to Ten-Second Rainshowers, the collection contains the poetic works of over 100 children, in loose thematic groups dealing with solitude, family and discoveries, among others. Monks contributes airy oil paintings that focus on nature and capture the mood of the pieces. (S&S, $17.95 128p ages 8-up ISBN 0-689-83460-8; Mar.)

Two wrenching themes inform the collection Revenge and Forgiveness: An Anthology of Poems, edited by Patrice Vecchione, which the editor says was inspired by the "tragedy of September 11." She includes poems from across cultures and centuries, and poets from Shakespeare to Robert Frost and Francisco X. Alarcón. In "Quatrain: Forgive Me Not," Lilla Cabot Perry writes, "Forgive me not! Hate me and I shall know/ Some of Love's fire still burns within your breast!/ Forgiveness finds its home in hearts at rest,/ On dead volcanoes only lies the snow." (Holt, $16.95 148p ages 12-up ISBN 0-8050-7376-0; Apr.)

Jessie Haas charts equine evolution in Hoofprints: Horse Poems. The more than 100 poems begin in prehistory, contemplating the lives of the biological ancestors of the horse, then move through the roles and influence of horses during Roman times, in battle, in 19th-century urban life and into the present day. In the poem "Two Legs," Haas offers a horse's-eye-view indictment of early man: "Sleek like an antelope,/ Shaggy like a bear./ Smell like a meat-eater./ Slow. Slow./ He can't/ Do much/ Harm." (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, $15.99 224p ages 10-up ISBN 0-06-053406-0; Mar.)

The classic Where the Sidewalk Ends: 30th Anniversary Special Edition by Shel Silverstein is reissued with 12 new poems that were not part of the original. Joining Hector the Collector, Ridiculous Rose and the Glurpy Slurpy Skakagrall ("Who's standing right behind you") are new poems including "Mr. Grumpledump's Song" ("Everything's wrong,/ Days are too long,/ Sunshine's too hot,/ Wind is too strong") and "The Unfunny Jester" ("The jester did a funny leap,/ The prince and princess fell asleep"). (HarperCollins, $17.99 192p all ages ISBN 0-06-057234-5; Feb.)

For Aspiring Scientists

A handful of titles will appeal to the scientifically inclined. The Living Rainforest: An Animal Alphabet by Paul Kratter (Butterfly Count; River Discoveries) allows a look at the habitat's creatures from A to Z, including unusual examples of otherwise familiar animals (the Amazon River dolphin and Sumatran rhinoceros) as well as more exotic ones, such as the red-and-green feathered "resplendent quetzal." Featuring creatures from Africa to South America to Australia, Kratter's precise illustrations accompany informative text that brims with animal facts—their binomial nomenclature, approximate size and a glossary of terms. (Charlesbridge, $17.95 64p all ages ISBN 1-57091-603-9; Feb.)

Examining the teeming animal life in Atlantic marshlands, Following the Coast by Jim Arnosky details the author's trek up the coastline "from Florida's Banana River to Bombay Hook on the Delaware shore." Joined by his wife, Arnosky narrates their observations and other information about manatees, spoonbills and nutria ("aquatic rodents"), among many other creatures. Full-bleed spreads of spoonbills at sunset or dolphins splashing as the tide rushes in make the marsh come alive. (HarperCollins, $15.99 32p ages 8-up ISBN 0-688-17117-6; Mar.)

Two new titles by Barbara Brenner, illus. by Tom Leonard, examine tiny animal habitations. One Small Place in a Tree demonstrates how different animals slowly create a hole in a tree (a bear uses the bark as a scratching post; timber beetles "set up housekeeping" in the layer below, etc.); even as the tree dies, it is host to birds and bacteria—and later—squirrels, salamanders and spiders. One Small Place by the Sea shows how life flourishes in small tide pools, as anemones, sea stars and other creatures feed on plankton and each other in an ever-changing coastal ecosystem. Leonard renders his realistic, full-bleed illustrations both scientifically and dramatically. (HarperCollins, $15.99 each 32p ages 5-8 ISBN 0-688-17180-X; -17182-6; Mar.)

The Kid Who Named Pluto: And the Stories of Other Extraordinary Young People in Science by Marc McCutcheon, illus. by Jon Cannell offers true stories that focus on nine prodigies who changed the face of science, such as Philo Taylor Farnsworth in "The Teenager Who Invented Television" (he made the first design for a television when he was only 14, according to his bio) and Mary Anning whose discovery (in the early 1800s) of an ichthyosaur skeleton as a 12-year-old led her to a life as a paleontologist in "The Curious Girl Who Discovered Sea-Monster Skeletons." (Chronicle, $15.95 88p ages 9-14 ISBN 0-8118-3770-X; Apr.)

In the detailed account of man's efforts to reach the stars, Voyages Through Time: Escape from Earth by British biographer and novelist Peter Ackroyd, a companion to The Beginning, Ackroyd examines the triumphs and tragedies of mankind's explorations of space. Side topics include the effects of zero gravity, space-related scientific advancements and humanity's future in the galaxy. With brilliant photos and illustrations, the book will capture young imaginations, just as the heavens themselves have for generations. (DK, $19.99 144p ages 8-up ISBN 0-7566-0171-1; Feb.)

The paper-over-board, highly portable The Concise Dinosaur Encyclopedia by David Burnie takes an exhaustive look at the beginning and development of life on earth with a focus on the evolution and reign of the dinosaurs. Realistically rendered illustrations plus photos of fossils and dinosaur discoveries bring fresh life to these ancient creatures and landscapes, as Burnie details the latest scientific theories about hundreds of dinosaurs. Interludes on modern fossil searching and various theories about the lives of dinosaurs are included. (Kingfisher, $12.95 224p ages 9-14 ISBN 0-7534-5754-7; Mar.)