A wide range of poems from across epochs all have the theme of “things” in common, even though, as Janeczko points out in his introduction, physical objects were not common subjects of poems across many centuries, especially in early writing. The “object-ness” of the poems serves as a unifying theme, but the result is a rich and varied collection both stylistically (from a variety of structured forms to free verse) and in terms of familiarity. There are poems that will be recognizable to some readers here, and many that will be new to them. The design features a clean, sans serif font that makes the poems stand out on the white pages, while Raschka’s illustrations can be points of entry to understanding, or fade into the background, depending on an individual reader’s need or preference. (Age 10 and older)