iF: A Treasury of Poems for Almost Every Possibility

Gr 4 Up—This hefty volume of 172 poems, written by more than 100 notable British and American poets, was cleverly culled through use of the "iF poetry app," a subscription site created by the editors, "to introduce poems to a generation of children who were at home with technology…." The resulting anthology includes a wide variety of topics, styles, and poetic forms; nursery rhymes; verses from notable children's literature; and a number of descriptive, nostalgic, and humorous poems quite appropriate for children. Unfortunately, there is also a preponderance of classical poetry from centuries past-literary treasures by the likes of Shakespeare, Pope, Dryden, Poe, and numerous others are better suited to high school and college curriculums. Only 11 living poets are represented. The selections are arranged in nine sections, including "Growing Up," "Friendship and Love," and "War, History and Death." Introductions define poetic terms and offer tidbits about the author or poem. Definitions of 14 additional poetic terms; author and title indexes; and suggested poems for special needs are appended. Law's pop-art illustrations on section title pages feature the acclaimed British artist's signature black-outlined white silhouette people against yellow backgrounds placed in scenes that include word clippings. Tiny yellow-filled drawings—shoe, frog, tree—are scattered throughout. Caroline Kennedy's outstanding A Family of Poems (2005) and Poems to Learn by Heart (2013, both Hyperion), both illustrated with Jon J. Muth's luminous watercolors, hold greater appeal for youngsters of all ages.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH