IF YOU EVER MEET A WHALE
edited by Myra Cohn Livingston & illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
Seventeen poems on whales, interestingly varied in tone though somewhat uneven in quality. Beginning with Ciardi's humorous explanation of ``Why Noah Praised the Whale'' (he didn't have to feed it) and several other amusing entries, the collection moves on to mothers and babies, whale songs (Yolen's ``Sea Canary''), some Native American verse about hunting, and a somber conclusion: di Pasquale's ``Stranding,'' Tony Johnston's ``Beached,'' and Lilian Moore's ``The Whale Ghost'' (``When we've emptied/the sea of the/last great/whale...''). The five specially commissioned poems are among the weakest (the muse is never easy to command). Still, as a whole, this is an effective and thoughtful tribute, with Fisher's handsome full-bleed paintings as a noble complement to the verse: the huge, streamlined whales and the subtle contrasts between their rich, dark hues and the deep undersea blue-greens are wonderfully suited to his monumental style and elegantly simple compositions. (Poetry/Picture book. 7+)