Earthmates [Hardcover]

Patricia Hubbell (Author), Jean Cassels (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000 | Age Level: 5 and up

Both children and adults will enjoy this immensely appealing collection of poetry written in appreciation of earth's "other inhabitants," the animals roaming its lands, seas, and skies. Captivating watercolors in brilliant hues and lavish detail make readers want to reach out and touch an owl or a lion, a whale or a rat. Poems range from the short and clever--"A Snail's Needs Are Very Small" to the thoughtful--"Elephant at the Zoo"--to the downright unusual--"Heart Surgery." Here is the stuff to feed the imagination and to open young eyes to the amazing diversity of the animal kingdom.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-These 35 poems about animals include elephants and deer as well as minnows, mussels, and barnacles. Hubbell is a careful observer, using visual images, sound, and texture to paint vivid portraits of these creatures' lives. Comparisons of giraffes in the zoo to sunflowers wilting in a vase or of a starfish to a human hand are fresh and powerful. The author uses a variety of forms, including rhyme, free verse, and concrete poems, to capture the essence of each "earthmate." Hubbell is at her best when she describes the incongruities of animals' interactions with humans: the "fat old mallard drake" posed precariously on a high wire, the Canada geese who enter her kitchen, or the toad squatting on her green rug. Cassels's realistic watercolor paintings accurately depict each animal so that the image in the poem is doubly conveyed. Similar in format and tone to Charles Norman's The Hornbeam Tree and Other Poems (Holt, 1988; o.p.) and Jane Yolen's Bird Watch (Paper Star, 1999), this is a lovely collection.
Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The lush illustrations in greeting-card style intrude on the poetry in this collection: not only the deer, but also the lion and the frog have liquid Bambi eyes and cute, expressive faces. The poetry is better than the art, playful and physical, with a strong sense of each animal's behavior and movements. "Rat" is a name shouted with "throaty disgust," but the animal flicks away, a "gray bullet" of a body. The viewpoint is always human: trying to talk to a frog ("Hey! / greenglove / O slicksleeve!"), straining to hear a whale's song ("but the wind's fat fingers / plug my ears"), or watching bats wheel by the porch, dodging, soaring, and swerving back. The rhythm and sound of the very short lines reinforce the sense of the wild, astonishing creatures. If only the pictures were less cozy. Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corporation (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761450629
• ISBN-13: 978-0761450627
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,298,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author Patricia Hubbel is the author of ten books of poetry for children, including "Boo! Halloween Poems and Limericks" as well as "Trucks: Whizz! Zoom! Rumble!" Her poems appear in numerous anthologies. She lives in Easton, Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Combining Poetry and Nature, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Earthmates (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully illustrated book that teaches young children about nature through poetry. We had the feeling on every page as if we had entered the world where nature's creatures live. The beautiful and colorful illustrations really enhance the poetry, give the creatures life and spark the reader's imagination. I highly recommend this book for children (and adults) of all ages!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An evocative collection of brief yet lyrical poems, September 13, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Earthmates (Hardcover)

Earthmates is an evocative collection of brief yet lyrical poems by Patricia Hubbel celebrating the creatures that live upon this big wide world, ranging from Canadian geese, to brilliant fireflies, motionless barnacles, squatting toads and more. Realistic color illustrations by Jean Cassels superbly enhance this wonderful showcase of rhyme for all ages. Starfish: I hold you/in the stretch/of my fingers//little brother//in our fiveness/we are/one.