Richard Grossman's THE ANIMALS might not seem like the most obvious choice for a book club read. And the fact it is poetry might put some people off. However, the book is very easy to read, and the poems are a delight. There is so much to talk about it after reading the book - everything from the form of the poems themselves (The Peacock poem, for example, is written to look like peacock feathers!) to the meaning of the poems and how they relate to each other. It's a great book club choice for Earth Day or for clubs who are concerned about the environment or about spiritual matters.