Corn-Fed: Poems

A quirkily varied layout, scribbly-scrabbly illustrations, and unusual glimpses at everyday experiences mark the sixth entry in James Stevenson's splendid corn book collection (Popcorn, Candy Corn, Sweet Corn, etc.). Stevenson's free-form verses, as down-to-earth as the title implies, contemplate gritty roadside snowbanks, a not-so-scared opossum, a conversation between forks and spoons, and a bottle of ketchup on the dinner table. The pictures speak as loudly as the words in many cases. In "Larry's," for example, a lot of large, white lumps under a sign stating "Larry's Used Cars" are explained:

Yesterday Larry sold
used cars.
Last night it snowed
and snowed.
Today he's selling hippos,
buffalo, and sheep.

Quiet, wry, and right on the mark, Stevenson's poems and pictures never fail to please and amuse. Readers from 7 to 107 will be inspired to see the world with slightly (and delightfully) skewed vision after spending an hour with Stevenson's corn. (Ages 7 and older) --Emilie Coulter