The following reviews of The Tree That Time Built edited by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston, and The Greatest Moments In Sports by Len Berman were posted in the November 30
th edition of Publisher's Weekly.
The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination Edited by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, $19.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-4022-2517-8
"Science and art have often been cast as opposites, but the division is an artificial one," reads the introduction to this expansive collection of poems about the natural world. Hoberman, current children's poet laureate, and Winston, a teacher and cultural anthropologist, gather more than 100 poems, grouped by subject (prehistory, trees, reptiles, etc.) from such poets as Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, D.H. Lawrence, Jack Prelutsky, and Sylvia Plath, among others (including Hoberman). Footnotes encourage readers to approach the poems both rationally and imaginatively, and a glossary defines scientific and linguistic terms; several poets read their works in an included CD. One provocative highlight is an excerpt from Tomas Tranströmer's March '79, shown in three different translations, underlining the creativity translators employ. Taken in total, the poems encompass nature's multitudinous qualities, from harsher realities ("On my early walk/ I passed the Frog Prince/ dead in a rut of the road," in Virginia Hamilton Adair's Early Walk) to its ability to inspire at its most microscopic, as Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, "Atom from atom yawns as far/ As moon from earth,/ as star from star." Ages 7-12. (Nov.)
The Greatest Moments in Sports Len Berman. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, $16.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-4022-2099-9
Veteran sportscaster Berman offers his selections for the most groundbreaking moments in sports, with color photographs and stats throughout. The broad grouping kicks off with Michael Phelps's swimming victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; other highlights include Hank Aaron beating Babe Ruth's home run record, Billie Jean King's match against the boastful Bobby Riggs ("it may not have been the greatest of sports moments... but it was certainly one of the most memorable"), and the U.S. Women's World Cup Soccer win in 1999. It's an eclectic roundup that's likely to have readers mulling their own personal favorites. An audio CD featuring broadcasts of 10 featured moments is included. Ages 7-up. (Nov.)
