Fresh Paint: New Poems

Grade 3-6 In the title poem, the first of 45 new poems in this collection, Merriam encourages readers to notice that if the word "don't" is painted out, the sign reads "touch." Her eloquent message to children is that poetry is to be touched and tasted. She delights in the sounds of language, savoring a rich variety of rhymes and rhythms from the lovely litany of "Giving Thanks Giving Thanks" to the gentle haiku of "Frame for a Picture." Some of the poems provide delicate extended imagery, while others move wildly from one image to another. Frampton has highlighted the tone of each poem with small woodcuts. His artichoke-turned-turtle echoes Merriam's words in "Artichoke," just as his tall, hard chair highlights Merriam's "Notice to Myself" about work to be done. As always, Merriam's great gift to children is in providing poems that make them think and wonder and laugh about the world as they read or listen. Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The award-winning poet displays her versatility in this volume of 45 poems that invite children to redecorate the ordinary world with unusual images"fresh paint." New shoes are "wooden boats/ so slippery/ I can't even stay/ afloat." The first snowfall "is a pinhole/ in the pillow of the sky." A good place "to Hide a Secret Message" is "in a raindrop on a window pane" or "in a raisin in rice pudding." Merriam is at her best when urging children to "wake to the wonders/ this world shows to me." Frampton's black-and-white woodcuts contain the sturdy simplicity of a child's potato print as they march across each page.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.