Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife by Sarah Grace Tuttle

Abstract

Reviewed by: Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife by Sarah Grace Tuttle Deborah Stevenson, Editor Tuttle, Sarah Grace Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife; illus. by Amy Schimler-Safford. Eerdmans, 2018 42p ISBN 978-0-8028-5459-9 $17.00 R Gr. 2-5 Twenty-eight free-verse poems treat the often underappreciated flora and fauna of cities, from bats and pigeons to squirrels and rabbits to dandelions and earthworms. The short-lined verse cleverly employs sound effects, repetition, and pattern to add interest (the green inchworm "drops!/ dangles/ drops!/ dangles"), and the subjects are generously chosen to include organisms such as feral cats, ant armies, and fungus rings that adults may view only as pests and not wildlife. The digital collage illustrations turn the poems into luminous slices of beauty, combining painterly striations and stipples with crisp layering to make wasteland and back alleys as attractive as parks; the birds have particularly fluttery charm, but even the worms and insects are worthy visual subjects. This could be a great complement to Joyce Sidman's collections of nature poems such as Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night (BCCB 9/10), or it could prompt a trip outside to view the local population with fresh eyes. There is no table of contents or index; end matter includes a paragraph of additional information about the featured critters and plants and some suggested books and videos for further exploration. [End Page 404] Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois