I Asked a Tiger to Tea: And Other Poems - Hardcover

Eastwick, Ivy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1563975157 ISBN 13: 9781563975158

Publisher: WordSong, 2002

Synopsis

If tigers, camels, or lions respectfully decline your invitation to tea, don't despair--poet Ivy O. Eastwick has many more friends who would happily accept. For more than thirty years, Ivy O. Eastwick wrote verse filled with gentle humor and inspiring imagery. From this body of work, educator Walter B. Barbe, the poet's longtime friend, has selected twenty of her poems that open the gates to her imagination. As you travel along, you can play with the West Wind, whistle with a blackbird, or discover the treasures of a beachcomber's sack. Artist Melanie Hall captures the spirit and playfulness of these enchanting poems in this poetry book sure to please readers of all ages.

About this title

About the Author:

Ivy O. Eastwick was born outside of London, England, and for many years served in the British Diplomatic Service. Among her published books are Fairies and Suchlike, I Rode the Black Horse Faraway, In and Out the Windows, and Providence Street.

Dr. Walter B. Barbe became familiar with the poetry of Ivy O. Eastwick after he joined the editorial staff of Highlights for Children magazine in 1963. Several years later, he was named editor in chief of the magazine, a position he held for ten years. Dr. Barbe lives in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania.

Melanie Hall teaches children's book illustration at Pratt Institute and Marywood University. Her illustrations have appeared in many children's books, including the Parent's Choice Award-Winning On Hanukkah by Cathy Goldberg Fishman.

From Booklist:

Gr. 2-6. Inspired by the English garden of Eastwick's childhood, the poems in this collection, compiled by Walter Barbe, are populated by fanciful animals, flavored with elements of nature, and written in appealing, lilting cadences: "Nighttime / Away went the twilight! / Away went the rain! / All the little fireflies / Glimmered once again. / A hundred little bright lights / Dancing on the breeze / Underneath the lilacs / And pussy willow trees." Many of them also display a keen sense of humor: "Six Little Monsters" is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on child discipline; in "Elegant Edward," Edward is "puffed up" and certain "there's nobody half so clever or handsome" when he's invited to greet the queen, but he forgets to take off his bedroom slippers! Eastwick's rhythmically dancing lines are in concert with Hall's richly textured, lushly colored art; the pictures' graceful, fanciful forms nicely complement the nonsense, nature, and fantasy of the engaging rhymes. Previous generations enjoyed many of these poems in Highlights for Children magazine; this collection proves there's much about Eastwick's work that will engage today's young readers, too. Ellen Mandel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: WordSong
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1563975157
• ISBN 13: 9781563975158
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Hall Melanie