In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
The creators of the popular The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders (2002) offer another picture-book poetry collection of gleeful nonsense verse and captivating illustrations. As in Frogs, many of the poems have a geographical theme and feature animal tourists exploring cities and landmarks around the U.S. In Toledo features four fat geese who parade the streets in wild outfits; in Ten Mice Went to Denver, the tiny creatures stayed there for weeks / to gaze at the Rockies' / magnificent peaks. The bouncing, rhyming couplets are best read aloud, and young kids will easily commit some of the contagiously silly lines to memory. Mathers' watercolor artwork greatly enhances each selection. Double-page spreads show the winsome characters with lots of feeling on each face. Particularly charming are the animal friends, such as the pigeon in leather cap and goggles, shown lounging in a field as he regales a rapt pig with tales of flight. A lighthearted, high-spirited collection for sharing any time, in groups or one-on-one. Engberg, Gillian