Cactus Poems (Hardcover)

by Frank Asch (Author), Ted Levin (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5ANineteen poems about the desert and its denizens. Each two-page section features one short poem in large, bold print, juxtaposed with full-color photographs in different sizes. Some of the selections discuss desert characteristics in general; others focus on specific flora and fauna. The poems, a mixture of free verse and rhyme, are mildly interesting, if unmemorable. In the most effective one, the coyotes' plight is pinpointed in the last ironic linesA"You may never see me./But listen to my grief:/The rancher takes my land,/and then he calls me thief!" "Saguaro" provides a clever example of emblematical poetry as the lines are arranged in the shape of a cactus. The outstanding photography gives the book great visual appeal. The portraits of various animals and birds are sharply focused and well composed; the shots of distant mountains, Joshua trees, etc., against the sky at sunset are stunning. An appendix gives some background on the subject of each individual poem. Scientific terms are mentioned in this section but not defined. For instance, the note for "Water Secret" states that kangaroo rats "can survive on metabolic water," but there is no explanation of this process. Byrd Baylor's Desert Voices (Scribner's, 1981) and Diane Siebert's Mojave (Crowell, 1988), with their lyrical prose texts, have a higher poetic vision than Asch; however, libraries with a demand for a brilliant desert photography will find Cactus Poems useful.AKarey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 3^-6, younger for reading aloud. As they did for the Everglades in Sawgrass Poems (1996), a poet and a nature photographer see to the heart of the North American desert in simply phrased rhyme and sharply focused, precisely lit wildlife portraits. Themes run through the poetry, notably a consciousness of the paradoxical strength and fragility of the earth, and the central importance of moisture, but mostly Asch looks at--or rather, through the eyes of--desert life: a hyperalert cottontail, a shy Gila monster. Between the intimate joy of "Lizards in Love" ("I fell in love / in the springtime, / when I was foolish / and young. / It was love at first sight / when I saw her / catching ants with the tip / of her tongue!") and the sweep of evocatively titled poems such as "Breaks Free" and "Waterless Shores," Asch shows a great range of tone and mood; Levin matches him with extreme close-ups of a water droplet and a tortoise's craggy features, pulled-back shots of stately saguaros and the elegant dunes in Death Valley, and finally the jagged silhouette of Arizona's Roskruge Mountains against a sunset. The photographer appends appreciative descriptive notes on the flora and fauna he captures--a bonus that enhances the book's value for nature study. A fine example of "facts and feelings," as Asch puts it, "working side by side." John Peters

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Gulliver Green; 1st edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152006761
• ISBN-13: 978-0152006761
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,714 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent photography and poetry, great for all ages!, April 24, 1999

By A Customer

I was looking for poetry books to read to a second/third grade classroom and came across this book in the library. After looking at the pictures and reading the poems to the children I relized I have to have one for myself!

5.0 out of 5 stars Feel your heart swell, April 5, 2009

By	Emma Hardesty (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This slim book of poems reaches the interstice between touching and feeling, animal and human, in the way that only poetry--or deep thoughtfulness--can ever accomplish. CACTUS POEMS captures all that is best about the creatures of the Sonoran Desert, and one can almost feel the fine heat and smell the creosote just from looking at the photos. If you don't live anywhere near the Southwest, this book is like an emotional vacation, and not at all just for children.