HIGH WIRE SPIDER. Swede, George. Toronto, Three Trees Press, c1986. 46pp, paper, ISBN 0-88823-112-1 (cloth) $12.95, 0-88823-111-3 (paper) $5.95. CIP Grades 4 and up Reviewed by Carol Steedman Volume 15 Number 2 1987 March This is George Swede's tenth book for children. This imaginative book of poems follows two previous poetry books, Tick Bird (Three Trees Press, 1983) and Time is Flies.* The poems are short, often in free verse, about such diverse topics as crickets, an abandoned factory, the universe, among a variety of others. One poem, "Mrots" (Storm), requires agile thinking to discover the reverse patterning, and it and others require the reader's active participation. Victor Gad's creative illustrations are light and humorous. The black-and-white sketches show flexibility in thinking and many require interpretation by the reader. High Wire Spider is thought provoking. Its poems are suited to grade 4 and up. It could also be quite appropriate for an enrichment group or individual reading, since some are shape poems and word plays and do not readily lend to sharing with a large group of children. This could be a spring-board for some children to write their own thoughts in creative poetry. Carol Steedman, North Ward School, Paris, Ont. *Reviewed vol. XIII/2 March 1985 p.88.