Twenty-six short poems describe aspects of the season of rebirth and renewal with subjects that are sometimes pleasingly familiar and sometimes surprisingly fresh. Many readers will get the immediate connection between spring and poem topics such as April, Buds, Kites, and Seeds, but among the more original offerings are Dawn, Hopscotch, Ladder and Venus, and Umpire is sure to bring a smile to some. Each poem is an acrostic, in which the first letter of the lines can be read vertically to spell out whatever is being described, and in each the connection to the season is made lyrically clear. Colored type is used to set the vertical word apart from the rest of the poem. Each page features a single boxed poem set on a richly colored, bordered linoleum cut. The handsome design is given even greater unity by the artist's depiction of the same family and diverse group of children throughout the illustrations of this book that is sure to inspire some poem-making among readers. (Ages 7-11)

In this companion book to "Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic," the pleasures of spring, from April to Zenith, are captured in twenty-six short poems. New grass and daffodils, hopscotch and kite flying, kittens under the porch and baby birds under the eaves are the subjects of Steven Schnur's evocative verses and Leslie Evans's luminous linoleum-cut illustrations. When read vertically, each poem reveals a playful acrostic, making every handsomely designed page a double treat for the eye as well as a joyous tribute to the season.