TO THE ZOO

Nineteen more or less contemporary poems, most of them previously published but relatively unfamiliar; each is brief, lyrical, and expresses a child's pleasure or curiosity. The entries are of good quality (although not especially demanding), focused on insights rather than on humor. Using multiple insets and frames, Wallner provides plenty to look at in each carefully composed double spread; his gently anthropomorphized animals aren't sentimentally portrayed, but they do have popular appeal and should help draw readers to this pleasant collection. (Poetry/Picture book. 4-10)