Take a stroll through friendly, familiar neighborhoods, where unexpected viewpoints await around every corner. The latest "corn book" from wordsmith and artist James Stevenson (following Cornflakes, Candy Corn, Sweet Corn, and Popcorn) examines the minutiae of the regular old world. Shabby shoes, a fold-up dock, burnt cake, even barnacle-studded flotsam are honored by Stevenson's uniquely skewed vision in this collection of 26 short, illustrated verses about what can be found just around the corner--even in one's own mind. In "Why?" the poet wonders:
Why is it...
While other people
Are thinking about all kinds of
Important things...
I am thinking about
What it would be like
To jump barefoot
Into an open box
Of jelly doughnuts?
Readers will thank their lucky stars Stevenson
is thinking about such things, and has the wherewithal to share his quirky thoughts with the world. His free verse is truly free, sometimes wandering over into the opposite page to take a peek at his scratchy, relaxed watercolors. Ranging from silly to pensive to acutely insightful, every poem captures an ordinary moment, a run-of-the-mill object, and makes it somehow beautiful. (Ages 7 and older)
--Emilie Coulter