(3) K-3 Photographs by Jason Stemple. Thirteen brief poems honor the American alligator, a creature whose formidable presence is summarized with a sense of foreboding in the opening "Seven Words About an Alligator": "Silently floating, / Silently gloating, / Not a log." Fact blocks accompany the varied rhyming verse, expanding on information; additional facts are appended. Clear color photos show 'gators sunning, swimming, and stalking prey. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Photographs by Jason Stemple. "For oh, you are / a lovely fly. / Just / do not go / and multiply." Accompanied by excellent close-up photographs and a factual paragraph about the featured insect, these lighthearted rhymes capture each bug’s essence. After the fly, Yolen profiles a praying mantis, butterfly, lovebug, tick (with one questionable fact), as well as seven other creatures.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Photographs by Jason Stemple. Each of fourteen spreads features a poem about a bird species, facts about the species, and a perfectly matched photograph expertly set against a complementary background, granting each creature a unique personality. The poems are varied and skillfully done, sometimes bending form and other times following it closely. A foreword by an ornithologist is included.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) 4-6 Photographs by Jason Stemple. Yolen's collection of poems reveals the egret experience; the "wash-and-wear" feathers of one spread become the unjustly hunted plumes of the next. Each poem relays facts about the birds with varying degrees of poetic achievement; some are effortless, others forced. Elegant photography gives egrets center stage while allowing the natural habitats to shine as well.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) K-3 Photographs by Jason Stemple. Each cleanly composed double-page spread features a well-reproduced nature photograph of an animal in or near water, a sometimes obtuse poem about the animal and its reflection, and some random captionlike information pertaining to the animal. The narrow subject lends a sameness to the whole, but readers may enjoy slowing down to reflect on the concept.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Photographs by Jason Stemple. This book highlights shapes found in nature. Stemple's photographs show the forms in sharp, vivid close-ups against softly blurred backgrounds. Some are natural fits (e.g., circle = sun), while others require more careful observation (rectangles in a spider web). Yolen's poems are varied in rhyme scheme, and she includes synonyms and other words associated with each shape on the pages.

Reviewer: Katherine Willsky

(4) 4-6 Photographs by Jason Stemple. A collection of witty, rhyming poems about birds accompanied by brief factual accounts of avian characteristics and (sometimes blurry) photographs, this book could be a helpful companion to a field guide or informational text on birds. The poems read aloud well and are suitable models for children planning to write their own bird poems.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire

(3) 4-6 Photographs by Jason Stemple. Yolen has applied her talent to haiku to make a beautifully simple book about small creatures found in nature. Clear and close photos capture a butterfly, tree frog, turtle, hummingbird, and others in their natural habitats and in fine detail. Spreads also feature caption-length facts about the animal pictured.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(4) 4-6 Photographs by Jason Stemple. In her author's note, Yolen explains that she wrote the poems in this book to accompany her son's color photos of various birds, such as a heron, a warbler, and swallows, in their natural habitat. Some of the poems convey the essence of particular species, but many of the poems are less striking than the photos they seek to illuminate.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire

(3) 4-6 Photographs by Jason Stemple. Striking photographs of objects such as a golden leaf, a pink thistle, and orange lichen on a rock provide the inspiration for these poems about nature. Yolen uses haiku, blank verse, and rhyming poems to create interesting images. In her foreword, she urges readers to write their own poetry in response to the photographs.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) 4-6 Photographs by Jason Stemple. Each double-page spread features a picture of a house in Hatfield, Massachusetts, taken at the turn of the century (by a family of photographers--Alvah, Walter, and George Howes), and a picture of the same house taken today. The text describes the differences in lifestyles then and now. The photographs and informational tidbits are each fascinating in themselves, but there is little, if any, relation between the two. Bib.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.