George Elliot Clarke started writing poems for his daughter the day she was born. Tooke, a three-time winner of the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration, aprroached Clarke (Regarding their collaboration). For this 24-page hardcover book, she has created bold and graphic collaged images, ranging from a grim image of imprisoned families to a whimsical vision of a dragon at a picnic to endearing pictures of Aurealia as a baby. This book is aimed at kids aged seven to fourteen and the birthday poems end at age nine because they "have a particular sequential feel" says Clarke, a Windsor born, prize winningpoet laureate of Toronto and teaches Canadian literature at the University of Toronto--Elissa Barnard