Bears Don't Like Bananas

From the title one might assume this is a book of light-hearted verse, but it's in the poems of a more serious vein-such as 'Symmetry, 'Cousins' and 'Who's There?'- that John Rice best catches the imagination, offering powerful, thought-provoking images and questions. Interestingly, in some of the weaker animal poems, like the title one, it's the work of the artist in a more flamboyant style which grabs the attention. With some of the stronger, serious poems, Charles Fuge is cleverly more subdued, allowing the reader to let the words paint their own images in the mind. Worth buying for the classroom collection. The hardback edition at $6.99 (0 7500 0444 4) will probably stand up better to the frequent use the book should get throughout a wide age-range.