As a writing teacher I was delighted to find this book for my classroom. But as a father of two boys, I'm happy to recommend it to any parent who is looking for ways to engage their sons in poetry and reflection. Taking as its backbone a fictional journal created by ten-year-old Ned, this slender but wonderful book does a nice job of both.

Ned has decided to yield to his fourth grade teacher's interest in poetry by keeping a daily journal of his life, which he will write in verse. Although his motives for this aren't clear, he proceeds with creativity and enthusiasm and provides us with a year-long window into his life.

Of course, it's the real poets, authors Fan and Elizabeth Brown, who supply the true creativity here. Illustrator Greg Betza adds a supportive, but unobtrusive touch. Together, I think they create just the right degree of intimacy and reflection.

Like most fourth graders, Ned is not (yet) a deep thinker, but he is learning to develop an observational and questioning mindset. That his observations sometimes focus on things like the single black hair in his grandfather's nose seems to me to be dead-on for a ten-year-old. His range of observations spans over family and friends, trials and triumphs at school and all the generally small pieces that build a life. Relationships are at the core of his story.

The telling takes a variety of verse forms and sometimes delves into Ned's struggles with the form itself - as when he wrestles to create a haiku. I was a little disappointed that the emphasis on rhyme in Ned's writing during his fictional year did not diminish and show some growth in poetic maturity - but I'm usually similarly disappointed by this over-attraction to rhyme in my young writers' verse as well. Sigh...

This is not really a book for older pre-adolescents. They will probably be over-sensitive to the pegging of the setting at fourth grade. Furthermore, by the age of twelve or so, they will usually have expanded their depth of inner and outer exploration to more abstract views and more challenging topics. For this you might look into the poetry books of Sara Holbrook. It is also not a book for a quick glance, or for browsing through. It proceeds at a steady pace through a full year with over 120 separate entries. Youngsters who pick it up will need an extended time to be with the book. In a classroom it should be an overnight loaner. As an attractive but solid, square hardback it will stand up to time's thumbings.

Notwithstanding its focused audience, this is great stuff! It is not just a book for boys (my eight-year-old daughter says it is "great") but it's an especially fine book especially for boys. Think about how rarely a book for boys in that age bracket reminds them (and us) that they have an active reflective and inner life. It's a wonderful approach, well executed here. Hopefully the authors will revisit Ned when he is 13 or 16!