"Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night," written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen (ages 4-8, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 32 pp.) is a 2011 Newbery Honor book. This celebration of nocturnal forest life manages to balance poetry and natural science. Readers will be struck by how much they can learn from the twelve poems and memorably intricate linoleum print illustrations inside.