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Betsy Franco's A DAZZLING DISPLAY OF DOGS (Tricycle Press 2011) feature concrete poems about man's best friend. These are not all traditionally what we think of when we talk about concrete poems. Some poems take other shapes, the joyous and exuberant illustrations by Michael Wertz prancing and bouncing across the page. Franco has captured the essence of canine existence perfectly in her spare words. <47>
ELSIE'S BIRD combines the dynamic duo of Jane Yolen and David Small (Philomel 2011) in the story of a young girl who travels with her father (after her mother's death) from Boston to Nebraska. At first, she misses the lovely sounds of her home in Boston. Eventually, though, Elsie's bird reveals to her all the wonderful music of the prairie. <48>
Joe Hayes tells of THE LOVESICK SKUNK (Cinco Puntos 2010) and its attraction to an old worn out pair of black and white sneakers. Illustrations by Antonio Castro L heighten the humor as a young boy learns that sometimes it is best to wear the new shoes. <49>
THE STORY OF LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD illustrated by Christopher Bing (Chronicle 2010) contains three slightly different variations on the familiar folk tale. Bing's illustrations are intricately detailed: close ups of the faces of Red and the wolf make the story seem all too real. <50>
SWEET MOON BABY by Karen Henry Clark with illustrations by Patrice Barton is subtitled An Adoption Tale (Knopf 2010). A small baby is cast adrift in the water by her parents who know they cannot properly for her. A young couple longs for a child though they have none. Of course, it is destiny that the childless couple shall find the precious baby. <51>