Name:
Monday, November 06, 2006
Imagine if your precious nose
Were sandwiched in between your toes
That clearly would not be a treat
For you'd be forced to smell your feet.
If you've never been introduced to the joys of Jack Prelutsky, it's time that I put you out of that misery.
And if you have elementary age children, especially boys, I am about to be their favorite Granny.
Prelutsky is a poet and author of children's books with a special appeal to the silly set (read: 8-10 year old boys.) This is a group that is particularly resistant to some of the more, shall we say, sophisticated forms of poetry, but when you're ready to awaken them to the world of rhyme and meter, there's no better way to do it than from Prelutsky's pages.
Oh, all right, at the risk of offending any of my classicist readers, let me rephrase that. There's no way to do it that's as much fun.
Observe:
Bleezer's Ice Cream by Jack Prelutsky
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:
COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO
LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUMP
EANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM
BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER
AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD
ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP
TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more.
See what I mean??? Okay, this is clearly not great literature. But can you think of a better way to get your kids interested in poetry? Yeah, yeah, some of you have kids who were teething on Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but believe me, they're the exception. And even THEY will benefit from a little lightening up while they study rhyming patterns and the lovely sounds words make. Even I can rarely get enough of Prelutsky...so I leave you with this one last barely legal example:
Homework! Oh, Homework! by Jack Prelutsky
Homework! Oh, Homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you
away in the sink,
if only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're giving me fits.
I'd rather take bathswith a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework,
my teacher assigns.
Homework! Oh, homework!
you're last on my list,
I simple can't see
why you even exist,
if you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
Oh come on, you KNOW you love it.
So if you don't already have one of these gems in your library, you have exactly 48 hours to order one :-) Granny will be checking.
A Pizza the Size of the Sun
It's Raining Pigs and Noodles
The New Kid on the Block
Something Big Has Been Here
Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant
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