Yolen, Jane. Bug Off! Creepy Crawly Poems.

Yolen, Jane.  Bug Off! Creepy Crawly Poems.     Boyd's Mills/Word Song  30p  $16.95  978-1-59078-862-2     elm/ms      VG-BN         

As they did in Mirror to Nature and Wild Wings, Jane Yolen and her son, Jason Stemple, offer a beautiful pairing of poems and photographs, this time exploring the fascinating world of insects.  In her introduction, Yolen admits that insects are not her favorite species, but she felt that the stunning photos needed a poetic accompaniment.  The result is a beautiful, whimsical, humorous and lyrical introduction to bugs.  Each poem is accompanied by factual information about each insect, and a breathtaking photo. Each is a two-page spread.  While some poems outshine others with their evocative qualities, each one is enjoyable.  The stars of this book, however, are the photographs.  They are truly stunning.  Yolen encourages young readers to write their own poems in the introduction.  This book will provide a wonderful springboard for writing activities in the younger and middle grades.  It is a delightful and visually stunning book.        

This book works on so many levels, visually, poetically, and as a introduction to writing activities, that it should be on the shelf in every elementary-school library.  As poetry, middle-school readers will enjoy it as well, and find the factual content useful.                                       -- Pat Naismith