The Horn Book Guide

LITERATURE

Mitchell, Stephen

The Wishing Bone and Other Poems

52 pp. | Candlewick | March, 2003 | Trade ISBN 0-7636-1118-2 $$16.99

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Tom Pohrt. This inventive collection of nine poems is a visual and verbal tour de force, with the ridiculous no less impressive than the poignant and meaningful. This collection does not permit boredom either in the asking of "Questions" ("How many inches in a year? / What makes a zero disappear?") or in "The Answer." Engaged readers will find themselves "released, rejoisterous...and [feeling] rounder than a pea."

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2003