Poetry Friday -- Review

Beastly Rhymes to Read After Dark
by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Brian Biggs
Alfred A. Knopf, 2008
review copy provided by the publisher

(the cover of my copy looks nothing like this)



This is a fun-sized volume (about 5" x 7") of poems perfect for the Halloween season. The illustrations are bold and colorful, and the rhymes just beg to be read aloud.

Here are some quick excerpts from a few of the poems:

The Lavatory Crocodile
"...She settled in the loathsome pool
Beneath the bathroom of your school.
When next you find you have to go,
Look first, and wave, and say 'Hello!'... "

Lovely Giant Squid
"...You can't have friends and eat them, too."

Who is Haunting the Zoo
"Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo!
Who is haunting the zoo?
There's a phantom flamingo,
A windigo dingo,
An elephant skeleton, too..."

Leopard Chefs
"My next-door neighbor, Hilda Hitchen,
Kept two leopards in her kitchen
Who, when Hilda wasn't looking,
Taught themselves the art of cooking..."
(you might guess, it doesn't bode well for Hilda!)

Parasite Lost
(the title's enough on this one -- it's the best/grossest poem in the book so you'll have to read it yourself!)

Never Bully a Bug
"...Young William never realized
The tiny mites he victimized
Had cousins that were giant-sized..."

This week's roundup is at author amok.