I'VE LOST MY HIPPOPOTAMUS- Jack Prelutsky

There are some authors that kids are always just plain glad to see. And Jack Prelutsky is definitely  one of those authors. The newest (or at least I think it's newest) book from this very prolific poet, is classic Prelutsky. There is a lot of silliness…

 "THANKSGIVING MATH"
I swallowed a third of the turkey,
A tenth of the carrots and peas,
A quarter of half the potatoes
A fifth of a ninth of the cheese,
A sixth of an eighth of the pudding
A seventh of all of the cake,
And so I am now doubled over,
With triple a whole bellyache. 

 There is a lot of word play…

"MY SNAKE CAN DO ARITHMETIC"
My snake can do arithmetic
My snake is far from dumb
My snake can take two numbers,
And come up with a sum. 

She can't subtract, which makes her sad,
And two things make her sadder…
She can't divide or multiply--
My snake is just an adder. 

Prelutsky employs a variety of formats- everything from free verse to haiku to limericks, to concrete poetry. And, as always, he's a master at tools like repetition and alliteration. I taught both of those in intermediate grades this week, and am wishing now that I had started each day with humorous poem, then gone on to more serious examples.

I was also struck, in reading I'VE LOST MY HIPPOPOTAMUS,  by Prelutsky's use of  rich and interesting vocabulary-- talk about text complexity! Here's a sample from a random two-page spread--fortunate, discern, gem, pity, commonplace, hard-pressed, strain, manufactured, insufferable, detect, odor, sniff. And in case you think I'm making it up, here's another randomly selected two page spread--crochety, miffed, appearance, cosmetics, strategically, perfumed, festooned, bangles, inexpressible.  I'm not big on "vocabulary" lessons where teachers find the interesting/difficult words and have kids look them up in dictionaries, but I do think this book would lend itself to lots of interesting discussions about how carefully poets/authors choose words.

Prelutsky is a hall-of-famer when it comes to poetry for kids. And this is another classic!

CHICKEN BUTT- ERIKA PERL

I want every single kid in my class to become a card-carrying member of the literacy club that first week of school. That sweet six- year-old that has read every single MAGIC TREE HOUSE and is reading HARRY POTTER at home with his dad? He's easy. The little punkin that sits in the front row at group time, hair ribbon neatly tied, hands folded, eyes glued to the book? No problem. But my favorite, my very favorite, is that little guy who sits in the back row, making armpit noises and pitching pebbles at his buddies. Have I got a book for you, buddy!

In CHICKEN BUTT, a cute little guy, possibly related to the fellas sitting in back of my reading circle, pesters his newspaper reading dad. Guess what? Chicken butt! The next page features a different question, and a different body part. Guess Why? Chicken thigh! Every two page spread features a different question and a different body part. Eventually, the little boy's dad becomes annoyed and he is sent to the corner…but even then, the fun is not over!

I know this will be a favorite of first and second graders from day one! And it would make a perfect readers' theater!

SHARK VS. TRAIN- CHRIS BARTON

Last year, I was one of the lucky ducks that got to be a CYBILS judge. The entire panel loved Chris Barton's THE DAY GLO BROTHERS, a biography of the men who invented neon colors. DAY GLO BROTHERS eventually went on to win the CYBILS award for elementary nonfiction.

Yesterday our school librarian handed me Chris Barton's new book, SHARK VS. TRAIN. The book begins with a comic strip illustration of two little boys running to the toy box. One little guy grabs a shark, the other a toy train, and begin a series of "My toy is better than yours…"

Their conversation isn't just about an ordinary competition, however. I mean, everyone knows a train would win a land race and a shark would win a race in the water. But what about diving? A burping contest? Piano playing? A lemonade stand? Things just get crazier and crazier until finally the book ends when the two little boys are called to lunch…

The zany competitions are illustrated by Tom Lictenheld, who I know best for DUCK! RABBIT!

I know this is a book kids are going to ask for again and again. I also think it will also make a great readers' theater.

CHICKEN CHEEKS- Michael Ian Black, Kevin Hawkes

Dashed into the library yesterday at noon to find a read aloud. I'm in between chapter books and just needed something quick and fun to fulfill my promise of reading to my fourth and fifth graders every single day. I had read about CHICKEN CHEEKS somewhere (YEAR OF READING?) and was delighted to find it in the new book bin in our library. I was definitely not disappointed!

So here is the story- on the first page, a bear sees a beehive way up at the top of a tiny, skinny, scrawny little tree. Of course, he can't reach it, so he enlists the help of his friends, who climb on to the top of a precarious pile, trying to reach the hive. Each page is a different animal's rear end-- chicken cheeks, a polar bear derriere, flamingo fanny, guinea pig buns, etc. I'm not sure which is funnier- the animals' rear ends or their faces as they struggle to maintain their place in the pile. And if you look carefully at the pictures, you'll notice an important subtext that plays in at the end…

My fourth grade boys loved CHICKEN CHEEKS. I read it once, then had to read it again when the fifth graders arrived from play practice. One of the boys stayed after class to complete a reading inventory and shared the book with a third grader who had come in to see me about something else. Of course he made me promise to read it to his group today.

CHICKEN CHEEKS is a book I could use to talk about word choice, or alliteration, or synonyms, and I might, at sometime in the future, but today we just flat out enjoyed…a groaning, guffawing, giggling read that I know I will have to purchase more than once, because kids will wear it out. Fun, fun, fun!