Grade 1-5AA collection of 27 short poems that can be integrated into units about weather, air, and seasons. Children will delight in the various characterizations of the wind: a cradle rocker, a hat snatcher, and a child teaser. Imaginations will be stretched by dreams of traveling with the wind, by challenges to experience its power, and by mysteries of its origin and destination. Most of the poems have been previously published, and most of the poets are familiar ones. Indexes of authors, titles, and first lines are included. Meret's sepia drawings are both fanciful and exuberant, catching the mood of each poem. The artist aptly illustrates a variety of winds: fallA"The leaves poured down upon the earth/Like drops of colored rain"; springA"May wind is busy/Brushing the robin's tail,/Combing the willow tree..."; and even a tornadoA"Wind went by with people falling out of it,/and hairpins,/and a barn door swinging without its hinges." This is an appealing collection with young readers' interests in mind. It will fly off the shelves.ABetty Teague, Blythe Academy of Languages, Greenville, SC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Ages 4^-9. "Where would you be on a night like this / With the wind so dark and howling?" The wind is a thrilling subject for a children's anthology, and Kennedy has collected 27 rhythmic poems that are great for reading aloud. The poets include Karla Kuskin, John Ciardi, Norma Farber, Christina Rossetti, and Eve Merriam. Meret's brown pencil illustrations capture the rushing, sweeping movements of the words as clouds, people, horses, waves, and trees are blown out of place. There are also sudden delicate moments: "When the wind blows / the quiet things speak," says Lillian Moore, and William Stafford makes us see the tiny particulars, "straw, feathers, dust," that show the way the wind goes. The immediate favorites will be the rollicking adventure poems about windy nights and storms at sea ("All night long in the dark and wet / A man goes riding by"), perfect for when you are cozy indoors at home, in the library, or the classroom. Hazel Rochman
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