Let's Celebrate!: Festival Poems from Around the World

Gr 1–4—Twenty-four festivals are presented through poetry in different forms, some of which may be new to readers. The celebrations presented are a mix of religious and secular, and each one is briefly explained in the back matter. The selections range from classics by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Pablo Neruda to entries by "Anonymous" and the editors of the book; most of them have been previously published. Some of the festivals have two poems dedicated to them while others have only one. The poetry is diverse simply by the nature of the subject, but certain entries, such as Bashabi Fraser's "A Card for me Mom," address poignancy in issues other than the celebration (here, a girl laments that none of the mothers pictured on the Mother's Day cards look like her own mom). Colorful, mixed-media illustrations are bright and appealing. For a mix of poetry and plenty of additional information about dates and holidays, Lee Bennett Hopkins's Days to Celebrate (Greenwillow, 2004) fits the bill. Let's Celebrate! is a supplemental purchase.—Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City