(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Karen Barbour. This representative poetry anthology of African American literary masters spans the sixteenth through twentieth centuries and includes renowned poets such as Phillis Wheatley, Lucille Clifton, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Nikki Giovanni; brief contextual notes accompany each poem. The selections, along with the watercolor, ink, and collage illustrations, reflect not only the black experience but also the evolution of free expression. Ind.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) PS Illustrated by Karen Barbour. Bunting tells how family and friends prepare for a baby's arrival with exuberant displays of love. A grandmother plants a rosebush for the child to enjoy, family members paint a nursery, and friends arrive with gifts. Barbour's joyful folk-art-style paintings keep this love-fest from sinking too far into sentimentality, but the whole package doesn't have much child-appeal.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Karen Barbour. Fifteen poems about words, one per page or double-page spread, are gathered in this picture book anthology featuring the work of poets from Emily Dickinson to Nikki Grimes to Carl Sandburg. The book's overall tone is serious and reverential, with just a few lighthearted poems relieving the mood. Despite the generous layout, the poems tend to be overwhelmed by the insistent gouache art.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Karen Barbour. Past and present come together in this collection of twenty-nine brief poems that pay homage to the history and culture of ancient Mexico, as well as voicing concerns and hopes about some of the country's contemporary struggles. Imagistic language and repetitive sounds give the verse a pleasing musicality for reading aloud. Black-and-white illustrations suggestive of folk art decorate every page. Glos.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) PS Illustrated by Karen Barbour. The fire alarm sounds, "Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!" calling a varied band of animal firefighters to their next assignment--where they get the job done and reap a special reward. The childlike illustrations, which fill the pages with bold, brilliant colors, seem to have a life of their own in this visual and auditory celebration of firefighting.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Karen Barbour. The olive tree has special significance in Greek culture, although Sophia, who lives in California, is not aware of this when she is given one by her grandfather on her seventh birthday. The illustrations have the flavor of Greek folk art, and while the story deals with the icons of a specific culture, its theme--the ties between family and place--is universal.

Reviewer: Nancy Vasilakis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(3) YA Inspired by Picasso's poetry, but rooted in the author's childhood, twenty-one poems (presented first in Spanish, then in English) paint word pictures that celebrate different ways of seeing. Steeped in sensual imagery, the verse fractures and transforms the ordinary into vivid, yet dreamlike, experiences. The poems are superimposed over spare, stylized drawings that accent an image or two from each poem.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.