April is National Poetry Month and a great time to introduce rhyming wordplay to young readers. Here are some worthy new collections.

"When Green Becomes Tomatoes" by Julie Fogliano; pictures by Julie Morstad; Neal Porter/Roaring Brook Press; 54 pages; $19.

This charming book begins when spring does, March 20, with a snow-covered tree and one bird singing. On March 22: "Just a tiny, blue hello / a crocus blooming / in the snow." The random dates flow, along with rain and frogs and lilacs, until summer brings swimming and fireflies. July 10: "When green becomes tomatoes / there will be leaves / and flowers tall and standing straight / and someone splashing, jumping, diving down."

Sept. 25 is "where notebooks are new / apples are best / and freezing still feels far away." Autumn and Halloween move us gently toward Dec. 21, when "the mountain decides / to put on a white furry hat / and call it winter. Eventually, after a big, big snowstorm, spring appears again.

Julie Morstad's almost thumbprint-like illustrations offer a wondrous look at nature that flows perfectly with the author's expressive poems.

"Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems" by Bob Raczka; Roaring Brook Press; 43 pages; $18.

Concrete, or shape, poems not only paint pictures in readers' heads but also on the pages. Here, Bob Raczka arranges his words in the shape of the thing the poem is about. His poem about a clock is arranged visually on the page in a circle, while "Dipper" is on a black page. "Up here in the sky, I'm a vessel of stars, my brim overflowing with night." The poem is arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper.

A super-cool way to introduce concrete poems to readers ages 4 to 9, "Wet Cement" is a blast visually, while the poems are smart and witty. Clear, uncluttered and mostly white backgrounds show off the short poems, which are shaped like hangers, fireflies, sunsets and xylophones. Raczka's other books are "Lemonade: and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word" and "Presidential Misadventures: Poems that Poke Fun at the Man in Charge."

"Shrunken Treasures: Literary Classics, Short, Sweet, and Silly" by Scott Nash; Candlewick Press; 34 pages; $16.

Oozing fun and color, this oversized tome shrinks down classics such as "Frankenstein," "Hamlet" and "Don Quixote" into delightful ditties from Emmy-winning designer and illustrator Scott Nash.

"Moby Dick" is sung to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and begins: "Ahab had a wooden leg, wooden leg, wooden leg; Ahab had a wooden leg — he got it from a whale." "Don Quixote," alongside hilarious illustrations, starts: "An elderly gent from La Mancha / Read too many tales of adventure. He left his armchair / And decided to wear / Some armor along with his dentures!"

"A Thousand and One Nights," "Jane Eyre" and "The Odyssey" are a few of the other classics shortened and infused with comedy and zest, fun and rhyme. Young kids will have a blast reading aloud: "No wussie was Ulysses: When mermaids sang sweet songs, he plugged his ears; away he steered, and journeyed ever on." Also super fun is "Remembrance of Things Past," summarized briefly as "I dipped a sweet cake in my tea, and a whole world came back to me."

An "About the Stories" section is at the back of the book so kids can learn a little about the new poems.

"In the Land of Words: New and Selected Poems" by Eloise Greenfield; illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist; Amistad/HarperCollins; 47 pages; $7.

Now in paperback, this 21-poem collection from Coretta Scott King Award winners celebrates children in "the land of words." With crisp, cool, fun poems titled "To Catch a Fish," "New Baby Poem," "Way Down in the Music" and "Books," plus retro felt fabric character illustrations, this book is a class act.

A fun tribute to the written word, "In the Land of Words" invites readers ages 4 to 8 to look within themselves and discover what inspires them.

"Marvelous Cornelius" by Phil Bildner; illustrated by John Parra; Chronicle Books; 36 pages; $17.

Though technically not a poetry book, this tale of a garbage collector in New Orleans — who sang, danced, performed tricks and was called a wizard of trash cans — is written poetically and beautifully. Bildner uses short pargraphs: "Cornelius rose. He dried his eyes. For his spirit and will were waterproof." "Bang! He clapped the covers like cymbals and twirled the tins like tops. Whizzing and spinning back and forth across the street." It's poetry in motion.

Phil Bildner's tall tale (based on a true story) of a bigger-than-life man in the French Quarter during Hurricane Katrina is inspiring and beautiful.

To find out more about Lee Littlewood, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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