Written by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Carin Berger
My rating: ★★★
ISBN: 9780062014641
Publisher: Greenwillow
Date of publication: February 26, 2013
Age: 4 - 8 years
Genre: Poetry
Themes: imagination, animals, uniqueness, discovery
Prelutsky has returned from his adventures to far off places to report on even more strange and unique creates. He observed stardines in the sky, jollyfish under the sea, and even the annoying tattlesnake. There are sixteen in all, and all have hilarious attributes described in pure poetry.
As a companion to his earlier book, Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems, Prelutsky again impresses with his profound imagination and grasp on the English language. With Plandas, Sobcats, and Braindeer, one must admire his creativity. The illustrations are brilliant, using scraps and cut-outs to personify some crazy animals. I really enjoyed the Stardines illustrations, as seen on the cover.
I'm not completely won over; I got a tad bored reading it all at once. But, I still appreciate the tool it can be in the classroom. After reading this book, it's hard not to try to imagine other animals mashed with whatever variety of inanimate objects/traits. It'd be a great prompt for a poetry lesson for second or third graders.
I'd say it is definitely skewed towards older children (what with a vocabulary including "cacophonic monotone" and animals like cormorants and wapitis). But the imagination is contagious and the poems rather creative. See if you like it.
Find it at you library or on Amazon
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