(3) K-3 Illustrated by Philippe Béha. City life is the focus of this collection of spirited poems. Subjects include subway trips, fender benders, street performers, and graffiti, among others. Most of the brief rhyming poems are upbeat, but a few tackle more mature topics like the loss of a firefighter in 9/11. Cubist-inspired illustrations rendered in crayon-bright colors suit the verse well.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Joy Allen. Divided into eight sections, this book provides every young reader with some reason to guffaw. It's not just gravy that explodes in this rambunctious collection: it's backyard volcanoes and Mother's nerves; it's baseball bats turned vampirish and Thrift-Rite Supermart frozen groceries that morph into an "instant storm." The exuberantly comic drawings spend as much time slipping off the page as they do staying on. Ind.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2002

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Graham Percy. In this follow-up to Elympics, Elefantina the elephant works her way up to Elympic skating competition. She earns money for skates, then practices on a makeshift rink (hard to come by in the tropics), finds a coach, and finally heads to the big city for tryouts. Nimble verse keeps readers on their toes, and the illustrations manage to make the elephants on ice perfectly believable.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Graham Percy. Nimble pachyderms compete for Olympic gold medals in this humorous collection. Kennedy has an unerring ear for meter, and his facility with wordplay is evident; for example, a runner sticks out her trunk to win "by a nose," and a gymnast is described as getting stamina from her "breakfast heaps of hay." Percy's bright watercolor and colored pencil illustrations complement the poetry.

Reviewer: Aishah Abdul-Musawwir

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Karen Lee Baker. Retaining its clear sense of purpose--introducing poetry (how it makes you feel, how it is constructed, how to make your own) to third- through sixth-graders--this revised edition, with seventy-five new poems, is better than ever. One of the best introductions to poetry available for children.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: December, 1982