Arnold Adoff has written marvelous books of poetry. This isn't one of them. Many of the poems seem to have been written by children. Perhaps that was the intention. Perhaps a sports fan or athlete would be able to connect to the text better than I did. There are some excellent images such as a soccer player who is "a brown tornado on a muddy day" and a dry throat waiting for a cold can of pop. Could be a nice tool for getting young athletes to reflect on their activities through poetry and other types of writing.

My three-year old brought this home from the library. Unfamiliar with the book or the author, I started reading it to my child at bedtime recently. What a mess! Many unpleasant aspects - dead dogs, implied suicide, roadkill, ghost pets, public school busing - and a writing style that aspires to art but merely annoys. Don't buy this and encourage the author to produce more like it. My advice is to spend your money on MISTER LUNCH TAKES A PLANE RIDE or Lobel's FABLES or, really, just about any other children's book.