Fledging is a beautifully illustrated book with the main character being a kestrel, a small falcon. This is fledging's first day of flight. He has an exciting flight through the canyons of Manhattan, to a Coney Island roller coaster to a being in a subway car. This delightful book is ideal for the pre-school and kindergarten set. Robert Blake's books are exciting because he never illustrates his books just in one style or medium. He paints with earth tones water colors in this book and soft watercolors in The Perfect Spot and wintry oils in Akiak.

Yudonsi blends ancient and modern cultural issues. A modern teen living in the Arizona canyonlands does not understand or appreciate his village traditions. He tags others' possessions and even the canyon walls in order to get attention. When the canyon spirits show their power, his village is threatened with a flood. Only then does he see the strength and importance of his Native village traditions. This is an excellent book to read aloud to upper elementary students then discuss the issues involved.

Mayakovsky was one of the foremost futurist poets of the early 20th centuary. He wrote anguished (and mildly egocentric) pieces about being alone and unrequited in love. He also wrote political poems that were supposed to moblize the workers and shock the borgeosie establishment. This book is worth buying for the two epics "A cloud in trousers" and "The backbone flute" alone. The other poems are the icing on the cake, sounding off his thundering poetic voice. His final poem, "Past one o'clock.." starkly contrasts the others with it's muted depression. He would include part of it in his suicide note, changing the line "now you and I are quits" to "now life and I are quits." The Bedbug is a savage satire of Soviet society, and (had he not shot himself) would probably have gotten him arrested during the imminent Stalinist purges. After his death, Mayakovsky was lauded by Stalin. His pro-Bolshevik political verses were glorified and proudly shown off by the state, whilst his other poems and satirical plays were quietly supressed. Get this book if you want to see every side of Mayakovsky, and not just the one that has been publicized for years as propaganda.

His verses are curses,
His words are sharp swords,
His phrases are races
Of animal herds,
He slashes and bashes,
He kicks and he bites,
The world of the uselessness,
Bleeds and than dies.

Well, I love pre-Revolution Russian literature, so I guess I'm a little biased towards this book, but it really is good. Even the introduction is fascinating and inspiring if you ask me.