Handsprings
Grade 3-5-Florian continues to churn out clever poems accompanied by his spirited watercolor and colored-pencil artwork. Illustrations include a girl skateboarding on a green leaf, a boy doing handsprings, and a daisy with a smiling face poking around a brick wall. He employs lots of playful phrases: Spring is great/For growing grass./Spring has zing/And spring has sass and The March wind rattles/And skedaddles. There is one nimble concrete poem titled Rain Reign and another selection called Ten Things To Do When It Rains: -&#xA6;Surf the net./Build a jet./Or go outside and get wet. The format will be familiar to fans ofSummersaults(2002),Autumnblings(2003), andWinter Eyes(1999, all HarperCollins), with plenty of white space framing muddy, childlike illustrations and simple, clear print. These sprightly odes shout out the poet's affection for the season and conclude his well-received quartet. Most libraries will want to purchase this entertaining suite.-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma Library, CACopyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.