cover image Imaginary Gardens: American Poetry and Art for Young People

Imaginary Gardens: American Poetry and Art for Young People

. ABRAMS, $19.95 (111pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-1130-7

The juxtaposition of art and poetry is not an original concept, but this volume contains an especially felicitous selection. The collection of photographs, superb artwork and splendidly varied poems--both silly and serious--is eclectic and historically comprehensive. Winslow Homer's 19th-century ``The Fox Hunt'' with its rook shadow accompanies Valerie Worth's ``Crows'' and Barbara Angell's ``Fox's Song.'' Carl Sandburg's ``Milk-white Moon, Put the Cows to Sleep'' is paired with Roy Lichtenstein's ``Cow Triptych.'' Whitman's moving ``The Words of the True Poems'' and two of Dickinson's poems about death are aligned with a photograph of the late teacher/astronaut Christa McAuliffe. Poet Sullivan ( American in Poetry ) has a discerning eye, and has chosen poems and art that not only reflect the breadth and depth of the American experience, but are accessible to children of varying ages. From the startling Chippewa Indian song about greatness to the brilliant photograph of the earth as seen from the Apollo 17 spacecraft, each page is a dazzling surprise. All ages. (Nov.)