The Tree That Time Built

November 30, 2009
“Science and art have often been cast as opposites, but the division is an artificial one,” reads the introduction to this expansive collection of poems about the natural world. Hoberman, current children's poet laureate, and Winston, a teacher and cultural anthropologist, gather more than 100 poems, grouped by subject (prehistory, trees, reptiles, etc.) from such poets as Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, D.H. Lawrence, Jack Prelutsky, and Sylvia Plath, among others (including Hoberman). Footnotes encourage readers to approach the poems both rationally and imaginatively, and a glossary defines scientific and linguistic terms; several poets read their works in an included CD. One provocative highlight is an excerpt from Tomas Tranströmer's March '79
, shown in three different translations, underlining the creativity translators employ. Taken in total, the poems encompass nature's multitudinous qualities, from harsher realities (“On my early walk/ I passed the Frog Prince/ dead in a rut of the road,” in Virginia Hamilton Adair's Early Walk
) to its ability to inspire at its most microscopic, as Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, “Atom from atom yawns as far/ As moon from earth,/ as star from star.” Ages 7–12.

January 1, 2010
Gr 5 Up-Finding connections to and inspiration from Charles Darwin's work, the editors of this anthology encourage readers to consider the shared ancestry among all living things. Divided into nine sections, this impressive collection begins with the theme "Oh, Fields of Wonder" and ends with poems that remind readers to "Hurt No Living Thing." Classic works by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, and the like, and selections from contemporary poets are included, as well as translated works. Hoberman and Winston cleverly pair titles such as D. H. Lawrence's "Hummingbird" with Rachel Field's "Something Told the Wild Geese." A thoughtful introduction describes the origin and organization of the book. Many pages contain footnotes that provide additional information about the poet, poetic terms and form, and suggestions for further consideration and discussion. A CD of poets reading their own work and poems written by others is included. This handsome collection is especially appropriate for classroom use and instruction along with Constance Levy's "A Crack in the Clouds" (S & S, 1998). From the playful to the profound, the poems invite reflection and inspire further investigation."Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2009
Grades 3-7 Both poets and scientists wonder at and about the world. Selected by Winston, an anthropologist and teacher, and Hoberman, the current U.S. Childrens Poet Laureate, this attractive, accessible anthology collects poems that celebrate both the facts and the mysteries of the natural world. Included are selections from the language-arts canon, such as William Blakes famous line about the world in a grain of sand, as well as contemporary offerings by childrens poets, such as Douglas Florian and Alice Schertle. The thematic categories are sometimes vague, starting with a section of poems about the wonderful beginnings of things, which explore lifes origins, as well as the connections between pebbles and mountains, people and animals, atoms and stars. Even if the organization occasionally feels arbitrary, the well-chosen selections will provoke thought and inspiration. Explanatory notes accompanying many poems, a glossary of both scientific and poetic terms, short biographies of the poets, and an accompanying CD featuring a selection of the poems read aloud make this attractive and unusual hybrid of poetry and science a great choice for classroom sharing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)