A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems
In their latest picture-book poetry collection, the creators of Today at the Bluebird Café (2007) widen their focus beyond birds to an entire forest full of animals. Once again, the poems and artwork create whimsical scenarios that will amuse kids even as they subtly incorporate basic zoological facts. Children may need help putting a few lines into scientific context, as in a poem about an opossum who dreams about kangaroos, “the cousins she has never known.” The playful sounds (“Ponder yonder salamander”) are reminiscent of Karla Kuskin’s work, and most of the rhyming selections feature animals with strong individual voices, such as that of the defiant fox, who refuses to be some “spoiled little dog”: “I won’t come when you call, / I won’t jump for the ball.” Rankin’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations feature evocative, wooded landscapes throughout the seasons and expressive, memorable characters, including a lovesick badger, a preening raccoon, and a frog who suffers indigestion after a too-salty slug. Both lighthearted and substantive, this is a good choice for cross-curricular sharing. Grades 1-3. --Gillian Engberg