Poetry

This wonderful read-aloud volume introduces a new generation of youngsters to the work of May Swenson, the widely honored American poet who spent a lifetime celebrating the magic and mystery of the written word. Here are riddle poems, poems about animals, water, space, and more--each one is a poem to solve. [HBLL catalog]

Gr 5 Up-- ``A characteristic of all poetry,'' writes Swenson in her introductory essay,`` . . . is that more is hidden in it than in prose.'' That belief is obvious in both the title and in each of the selections found here. With one exception, the 72 poems appeared in the previously published Poems to Solve (1969; o.p.) and More Poems to Solve (1970; o.p., both Scribners) and provide a major representation of the work of one of America's leading poets. The sly riddle poems will appeal to children. Many, like ``Living Tenderly,'' can be pleasantly decoded with a little effort. Others are more demanding: ``An Extremity'' begins: ``Roused from napping in my lap,/ this nimble animal or five-legged star/ parts its limbs sprat-wide'' (a hand). The sophisticated tone and challenging vocabulary will require readers' full attention; but with sensitive presentation, the magic of the poems will be accessible to a broad audience. --Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI [HBLL catalog]

811 Sw42c