Make Magic! Do Good!

December 3, 2012
To get a sense of the tone of this poetry collection from Clayton (An Awesome Book!), look no further than the illustration note on the copyright page, which says the artwork was "done in two parts positive vibes and three parts watercolor rainbow sprinkles." Recurring themes in the nearly 50 poems include seizing the day, making friends of enemies, being kind, and blazing one's own trail. "ou won't be fast forever/ so the clever thing to do/ is to stop and help the others keep up/ because someday/ they'll be you," writes Clayton in "Running!" while "You Never Know" cautions, "Be nice to your friends,/ 'cause you never know/ when you'll be stuck/ in ten feet of snow/ with nowhere to stay/ and nowhere to go." What keeps the collection from sinking under its own good intentions are Clayton's illustrations, which are whimsical but not saccharine, and his sense of humor, which peeks through in poems like "The Breaks," in which a bear claims he broke his leg "just walking," before outlining the laundry list of daredevil stunts ("I jumped off a roof/ and onto a bike...") that accompanied said walk. Ages 7âup.

October 1, 2012

K Up-Clayton's work continues to grow and be infused with love and artistry. The imaginative life of his poems is reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's work. There is no sacrifice for the sake of rhyme; each one is just right and there's plenty of wisdom and humor. In "Xavier Xing Xu," Xavier is disappointed that the world doesn't contain more words like his name so he sets about finding friends to help "make it an art/to change all the S words/and put X at the start." The results are quite funny. Roughly hewn mixed-media drawings of pig-nosed unicorns, furry fleas, dragons and turtles, whales and giraffes support the warm, light tone. Wise advice is gently handled in a short verse that considers how it may not be best to be first: "second place may do just fine/in a race to hug a porcupine." Clayton wants to "share his happiness with you." This is an uplifting read, a little wonder that speaks of the magic and good in everyone and the importance of following one's dreams.-Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2012
Indie best-seller Clayton (An Awesome Book!, 2012) offers this light collection of didactic verse for young readers as his traditional-publishing debut. Accompanying these short lyric poems are Clayton's own free-wheeling illustrations done with "two parts positive vibes and three parts watercolor sprinkles," making for two-page spreads that give these potent messages added levity and much-needed breathing room. Many of these works make no bones about driving home clear imperatives like those found in the volume's title piece: "Make magic / do good. / Be who you are. / Be what you should." But Clayton's more compelling poems are those that are downright silly--"Did you hear about the race? / Hooray! I came in second place. / And second place will do just fine / in a race to hug a porcupine"--or whose lessons are slightly muted, as in "Butterfly": "If you find a caterpillar / and you keep it in a jar, / just think of how your life would be / if you weren't where you are, / if someone put you in a bowl / or in a tiny box / or in an old aquarium / filled with shiny rocks." While Clayton succinctly delivers a number of behavioral tips looking to foster kindness, generosity, courage and spontaneity in the next generation, his poetic touch is sometimes heavy-handed. Let the effervescence in the pictures leaven the didacticism of the poems. (Poetry. 6-10)

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