World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of

K-Gr 3—Funny from start to finish, these superbly crafted poems and inventive illustrations celebrate the extraordinary, odd, and seldom heard of holidays that the elementary-school crowd will love. Raff's intelligent artwork adds to the lighthearted play with many surprises. On "Worm Day" (March 15th), a troupe of worm scouts sporting their uniform scarves listens attentively while the scout master points toward a map of key locations next to an anatomical diagram of their subject, the robin. In another poem, an oversize Mae West of a cat, wearing a crown, reclines regally on the couch while confetti litters the air and balls of yarn dangle from the ceiling like balloons-it's "Happy Mew Year"-and the dog of the house looks on confused. Lewis writes, "On Mew Year's Day, /Let my cat be/The Queen of Purriosity…." January 16th is "Dragon Appreciation Day," and the dragons are feasting. Some of the tips on their etiquette menu include, "Never blow on your soup. That only makes it hotter" and "Play with your food, but don't let it run around screaming." For "National Skunk Day," the illustration shows a skunk posing for a photo beside a bottle of spray perfume while the photographers and lighting crew-all rats-struggle to repress their olfactory impulses. The entire book is such fun that children will will want to shout, "It's J. Patrick Lewis Day!"—Teresa Pfeifer, The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA