WEATHER REPORT

Fifty-plus excellent poems—ranging from Mother Goose and Shakespeare to Mark Van Doren and Theodore Roethke and including a few of Yolen's own. The five sections feature poems about rain, sun, wind, snow, and fog; some are old favorites, but most have not been overanthologized for young people. Though the collection is not geared to preschoolers, there are poems that could appeal to five- and six-year-olds. Attractive typography and layout support the high aesthetic standards in selecting the poetry; unfortunately, the stylized illustrations—uncompromisingly hard- edged and sometimes falling oddly off the bottoms of pages as if their primary function were merely to fill in white space—are disappointingly unreflective of the poems' varying moods. The bold graphic design of the color jacket is somewhat more successful than these minimal b&w decorations. Visually unsatisfying, though the poetry is superior. (Poetry. 5+)