Kindergarten-Grade 5?This celebratory poem asks readers to imagine that they are the Earth. Ryder first evokes the celestial body in space, spinning and dancing around the sun, larger than the moon. She suggests that its forests, seas, and deserts form a brightly colored and comforting quilt. And of course, it is home to so many creatures. Earth is personified through striking tactile imagery: \"Wiggle your shoulders/ and mountains tremble and quake./ Shake your hair and feel windswept grasses tickle your face.\" The poem grows in power as it flows along, and is ably supported throughout by Gorbaty"s gorgeous, inventive artwork. This is an especially well-designed book, with its use of appealing bright colors and careful placement of text. The illustrations, both stylized and childlike, set a playful mood that nonetheless dovetails nicely with the poet"s environmental message: \"Dance slowly,/spin gently,/and carry them/ through space. May they hear /your whispers,/feel your strength/under their feet, and treasure you.\"?Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CA