I checked this book out of the library for my 16 month old son. He absolutly loves this book! It quickly became his "lovey" and he carries it everywhere. So I knew I had to own a copy of this book and have it on hand, before the library's copy was due back! The mice are drawn so cute! There's mice on almost every page, some are bigger and some are smaller. My son points out all the mice on all the pages, even the small somewhat "hidden" mice. They story has great rhyming text, it's great for learning animals too. The story is about pet shop animals and it says how the other animals smell, are loud, or shed...but mice make the best pets! After reading this book, when my son's older...I can see him asking for a pet mouse! Ha ha.

This is one of my son's favorite books. It is very well written and the rhymes in it flow nicely. I recommend this book to anyone with children who are learning to read.

Beautiful illustrations and great rhyming text! Perfect for beginning readers. BUY IT!

I highly recommend this book. It is divided into sections that reveal a broad range of style and subject. Readers who delight in word play will particulary enjoy the poems on the circus and on authors. My favorite section is the one on Howard, an ambitious series of poems on an enigmatic schoolmate named Howard. "When Howard Became Jesus" will send a tingle down your spine. Sometimes to be pitied, Howard's actions nonetheless provoke self-reflection in the narrator and other persons who know him regarding struggles common to all of us. There are other fine poems as well, in both free verse and forms. I can't help but think that if more contemporary poets could combine memorable language and subjects the way these poems do, poetry would have a bigger audience in the U.S. I was formerly a teacher, and in addition to reading these poems for your own pleasure, I recommend this as a book to share with your students to help awaken them to the possibilities of language and to writing their own poems. Buy the hardcover if you can get it -- you will want to pull this book from the shelf often and reread it.

"A masterful collection of poetic strength and clairty of vision; poems dealing with a broad range of subjects from a fighter learning of hands, to a mystical man named Howard trying to find himself in a world all but beyond his grasp." --Paul Ruffin, 1994

"Charles Ghigna writes with appealing freshness, placing his words exactly and concisely, with a mean eye for a metaphor. He takes aim often at difficult and elusive targets, and he hits far more than his quota. His best poems -- and many are particularly fine -- read like short, hard chisel-jabs into a sheet of granite." --X.J. Kennedy, 1994

"This wonderfully funny collection of simple poems about animals will spark every child's sense of humor. Great for reading aloud, this collection includes silly poems about chickens, bears, donkeys, cows, giraffes, crocodiles, and the like. The rhyme scheme is simple, yet clever, and the illustrations have bright, vivid appeal. A true feast for a young child." --K.W.

"Ghigna's simple rhymes rely heavily on repetition and their chantlike meter meshes well with Gabriel's exotic visual stylings. Just when readers settle into a rhythm, a welcome aberration comes along. This lively collection will have children clamoring for repeat performances until they can read all the rhymes solo."

CHRISTMAS IS COMING! "Written in first person, each poem reflects the thoughts of one of three children. The image throughout is timeless. The verses are simple and follow very basic rhyming schemes, making them easy and fun for younger children to read aloud. The poems are useful as a starting point for classroom discussion, craft projects, or student compositions on a variety of subjects, ranging from the preparation for and celebration of Christmas to the ideas of family, generosity, and tradition. Children may wish to compare their own holiday experiences to those in the book."--Education World

This book will provide us with a script for an excellent Christmas program this year. Thank you!

"Charles Ghigna's work is impressive for its perceptiveness, its verbal felicities, its craftsmanship. He has a feeling for language, a sense of form, and he makes the experience he writes about matter to himself and the reader." --Robert Hayden, 1989

"A brilliant performance. Ghigna graces the poetry platform with dynamic wit, vision, and verve. Strong, original poems exquisitely read with a commentary laced with humor befitting a seasoned poet/professor." --THE MIAMI HERALD, 1989

This wonderful two-part book has been nearly worn out from reading it every night to my daughter. The illustrations are outrageously funny, and the text is a simple poem that children quickly learn. "Cats are cuddly, cats are cute, cats can clean their furry suit," is accompanied by pictures that are full of fun details. The bad cats are just as much fun--"Cats are sneaky, cats are sly, cats will look you in the eye," as the reader is met with the dilated pupil of a feline face winking across the page. I highly recommend this book.

This is haiku at its highest level. All are gems! Keller's Japanese sumi-e ink drawings are the perfect complement to the poetry. This handsome little book is a rare treasure. I plan to give it as gifts.

I bought this book of LOVE POEMS for my husband to read to me. Even he was moved by them! These are truly some of the most original, real expressions of love that I have ever read. No more Hallmark for me. Give me more of these!

Many years ago James Dickey called Charles Ghigna "the finest new poet that I or anybody else has read in a long time." PLASTIC SOUP: DREAM POEMS continues to establish Ghigna as one of the most original voices in contemporary poetry. His poems are full of passion, contempt, and vision. I'm sure Dickey is looking up from his grave right now and saying, "See, I told you!"

³TICKLE DAY: POEMS FROM FATHER GOOSE is a bright and colorful collection of poems from the gifted pen of Charles Ghigna, aptly dubbed ŒFather Goose¹.² --The Washington Post ³Charles Ghigna¹s lively, joyous, and quite imaginative poems of TICKLE DAY: POEMS FROM FATHER GOOSE invite young readers to snuggle in and savor each page.² --American Bookseller ³Like Robert Louis Stevenson¹s A CHILD¹S GARDEN OF VERSES so popular a generation ago, TICKLE DAY: POEMS FROM FATHER GOOSE, by nationally acclaimed poet Charles Ghigna, features delightful, story-telling rhymes. They are told simply, with the kind of charming detail that makes them instantly memorable.² --Birmingham Post-Herald