Why Trees Sneeze and Other Mysteries (Paperback or Softback)

Poet and educator Curt Curtin has crafted classroom-ready poems that lead young readers on a journey of discovery. We learn what happens when trees sneeze, how to talk to vegetables, which cat is the rudest, and much more. Filled with wit, inventive rhyme schemes, and fun wordplay, this is a collection that curious minds are sure to enjoy.

—Devon E. Evans, Public Services Librarian, Worcester Public Library

In Why Trees Sneeze and Other Mysteries, Curt Curtin uses word and letter play, metaphor and rhyme. “How come there is no c in sea or see?” Children riding in a school bus are “like eggs in a yellow basket.” In “Our TV,” “We’ve learned to think and even wink in sync with it.” “Blue-footed Boobies” will make curious readers want to find the Galapagos Islands in an atlas. Curtin delights and instructs us in this collection for young readers.

—John Gaumond, elementary and secondary school teacher, poet, photographer and Professor Emeritus, Fitchburg State University; 2006 Jacob Knight Award recipient for poetry

The poems in Why Trees Sneeze and Other Mysteries invite readers, both young and old, to see the natural world around them through new eyes — the fingers of the wind that make a river shiver, the squat goose transformed in flight, or the variety of dance moves performed by trees. Other poems introduce the reader to the world through a young child’s eyes: a seven-year old’s experience of injustice, a child emerging like royalty from a father’s clanky truck, or a student’s plea to a teacher to understand baffling spelling words. With their playful rhymes and sense of whimsy, these are poems meant to be read aloud. It is an inspired collection that attests to Curtin’s impressive poetic range.

—Emily B. Todd, PhD, Interim Dean, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Westfield State University