Starting in the spring and working its way around the calendar, this volume is filled with poems about every conceivable holiday and event to celebrate. Some poems are two-liners woven into the pleasantly busy ink and gouache illustrations; others take up the whole page. Each poem explores the special occasion with humor and energy--every page is bursting with vivacity. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

This celebration of almost every event in a child's life is arranged by the four seasons. Over 80 poems observe holidays such as Ramadan, Passover, Chinese New Year and Cinco de Mayo. "It's Labor Day" begins, "A holiday for hard work? / Yes, grown-ups, you deserve it! / But thank you very kindly / for letting kids observe it." Topics include spring-cleaning the city streets, seasonal games, daylight savings time and Teacher Appreciation Day. Each overstuffed page features cartoon-like drawings that are busy and at times overwhelm the writing. Uneven cadence mars some of the poetry, but, on the whole, the writing is breezy and fits the illustrations. Children will have fun reciting the poems and sharing in reading the notes, jokes and two-line poems that decorate the margins. (Poetry. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The subtitle serves up the contents of these 80-some poems illustrated with gouache-and-pen doodles, similar to Whitehead's Lunch Box Mail (2001). Divided into seasons, the poems cover traditional holidays and lesser-celebrated ones, like Flag Day, Friendship Day, Daylight Savings Time, Teacher Appreciation Day, plus cultural and religious holidays, such as Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah, Chinese New Year, and Kwanzaa. The sometimes offbeat rhythms are redeemed by the consistent child's point of view. 'A Long-Distance Connection--Phone call hugs, / Fridge photo smiles, / Traveling for miles and miles; / In a car, letter, or thought--/ Nana visits me a lot!" Though the text layout echoes the occasion ('Camp-A-Lot" is a letter tacked to a bulletin board; 'It's Hanukkah" curves the type along the lines of a menorah), the crowded page design curdles the stew, losing some of the whimsical flavor in the details and side comments. The poems, however, which vary in length from two lines to six stanzas, will be a boon to teachers and librarians.--Cummins, Julie Copyright 2007 Booklist

Gr 2-4-The author and illustrator of Lunch Box Mail and Other Poems (Holt, 2001) turns her artistic and wordplay talents to a celebration of a year's worth of holidays-from the familiar, like Easter, Passover, and April Fool's Day, to those less well-known to some children, such as Ramadan. There's even one about the switch to daylight savings time. The collection is organized by season, and each of the 78 original poems is accompanied by a richly detailed ink illustration. Neither the rhyme nor the meter is forced, and the poems remain rooted in child-based experiences. Move over Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky-there's a new comic poetry writer on the block.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.