Guess Who, Haiku

Caswell (Beach House) and Shea (I Will Chomp You!) combine an outdoorsy guessing game with an introduction to haiku through a chain of guess-the-animal interactions. Each poem gets its own page ("new day on the farm/ muffled mooing announces/ a fresh pail of milk," reads the first one), followed by the recurring question, "Can you guess who from this haiku?" A turn of the page reveals the answer, and the discovered animal offers a new haiku for children to decode. Working in his familiar bold, graphic style, Shea offers plenty of visual clues to help readers guess, while placing the action in a simplified barnyard setting that keeps the focus on the animals. A closing page that briefly explains the structure and goals of haiku should prove useful to children curious about the form. Ages 3-5. Illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.)

PreS-K--This winning combination of haiku and smiling farm animals is sure to be a favorite among young readers. Each page presents a call-and-response riddle about a different animal, along with a picture clue. Both the text and the illustrations offer plenty of support for children encountering this poetic form for the first time. The bright pastel color scheme and thoughtful text positioning are lively without being too busy. Caswell concludes with a page for caregivers, offering suggestions on how to engage children in the rhythm of each verse. VERDICT Perfectly designed for the youngest poetry readers, this introduction to haiku is excellent for storytime or laptime.--Maggi Rohde, Ann Arbor Public Schools, MI