Hoofbeats, Claws & Rippled Fins: Creature Poems

From School Library Journal Grades 2-5--Featuring new work by such favorites as Karla Kuskin, Ralph Fletcher, Janet S. Wong, and Alice Schertle, this collection forms a unique whole. Most of the 14 poems are free verse. From Rebecca Kai Dotlich's "Porcupine" ("Bedazzled by bristles,/bewhiskered with points") to Tony Johnston's "Iguana" ("humble as a glaze of mud") to Lillian Fisher's "Camel" ("He feasts upon brambles/And ploddingly ambles"), each selection reflects upon a different animal. Alcorn's duo-toned woodcuts face each poem on varying pastel-colored pages, creating an elegant-if not immediately child-appealing-look. Various sizes of type and changing directions of lines add to the highly rhythmic quality of the poems. This design is done well, and brings the different tones together nicely. The anthology doesn't compare in scope to Jack Prelutsky's The Beauty of the Beast (Knopf, 1997), but provides new material for the same audience. Fans of Douglas Florian, Richard Michelson, Valerie Worth, or of any of the fine poets in this collection will find plenty to enjoy here.