Baseball, Snakes, and Summer Squash

This unsentimental and ambitious collection of poems by Donald Graves chronicles the American childhood of a boy as he moves with his family to a house in the country, and the changes the boy experiences in that year. From formidable lessons learned from a bully, and facing parents after breaking curfew with his brother, to math woes and misadventures with his independent Scottish terrier, Rags, the poet's convincing voice gives the reader a generous, spirited perspective of growing up. Black-and-white illustrations add an appealing visual element to this coming-of-age collection.