The writers include Blake, Dickinson, Tennyson, Yeats, Wordsworth, and Keats. The captivating paintings by Simona Mulazanni make every page a delight. And the subject — animals, big and small, wild and tame — has an irresistible appeal to children.

William Blake's "The Tyger" burns bright in the lush image that accompanies the verse. Hillaire Belloc pays tribute to an elephant in a short, witty stanza accompanied by an adorable picture of the creature sitting on a small wood stool. Among the other poems are Marianne Moore's "A Jellyfish" and Edward Lear's charming, songlike "The Owl and the Pussycat."