Constance Levy

   Volcano
If you were a volcano
asleep in the same spot
for a hundred years,
with old anger
rumbling and burning
your insides

wouldn’t you awake
screaming with fire,
spitting rocks and ashes,
throwing a flaming fit
not caring who or what
you hit?

" ...In gentle language and clear images Constance Levy lets us enter the special world of the mouse scurrying under ivy; two fireflies glowing brighter than any others; a hermit crab finding a new home; a child seeing a spider’s web covered in dew; and a flower being visited by a hungry butterfly. She also enables us to sense the anger of a volcano, the movement of a lawn mower, and the quiet of an early morning.

The author of I’m Going to Pet a Worm Today and Other Poems (McElderry Books), Constance Levy often surprises readers with her fresh perspectives on the world around us... "
(from book flyleaf)

"...in the unaffected tenderness of the imagery evoked, Constance Levy speaks in a voice that is all her own ... Constance Levy has the instincts of the best children’s poets, creating verses that are accessible without writing down to her young readers."

--The Horn Book (starred)

"These 40 poems capture a childlike sensibility with exquisite economy, artistry, and care. Levy’s fresh, clear-eyed vision of little things... offers a delightful series of humor-touched epiphanies and insights into how the most ordinary things may be extraordinary and how a poet’s words can reveal that quality."

--Kirkus Reviews (pointer)

"Constance Levy’s second book of poetry for young people, A TREE PLACE and Other Poems firmly establishes her as a poet for children and fulfills the promise of her first volume ... Her poems are fresh, unaffected and readable; she knows her audience and is never condescending, Her poetry reflects her insight into the world of nature; the language is agile and clear and dazzles with its evocative imagery..."

--The Boston Globe