Review, A HIPPOPOTAMUSN'T AND OTHER ANIMAL POEMS, Genre 3 Poetry

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lewis, J. Patrick. 1990. A HIPPOPOTAMUSN’T AND OTHER ANIMAL POEMS. Ill. by Victoria Chess. New York, NY: Puffin Pied Piper Books.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This book is a collection of poems By J. Patrick Lewis. All of the poems in this selection are about animals.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Organization - The poems in this anthology are all by J. Patrick Lewis and are all about animals. This book was written in 1990 but this date does not affect the animal characteristics which are written about. The last page in the book tells about the author and the artist. There is no table of contents for this book. The book begins right off with short poems which are about animals and their characteristics.
Literary Merit – The poem BRAGGING IN THE BARNYARD is about roosters. The poem states that it is ridiculous for a rooster with his red crown to think himself a king because in the end the only king he is likely to be is chicken a la king. The poems are very cleverly written. They frequently focus in on a physical or innate characteristic of the animal and focus on it, such as the “red crown” in this poem.
Poetic Element – The poems in this book are short and fun to read. The main idea of each poem is evident and they frequently remind the reader of a special attribute or characteristic of an animal such as the rhinoceros’ nose in HOW THE RHINOCEROS GOT HIS NOSE and the eyes of the owl in ALL EYES. The poems are all fun to read and include use of sound elements such as rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration, which are all evident in the first two lines of ALL EYES. “Silly bird is Mr. Owl / Hoots a single silly vowel.” Some of the poems even help you to visualize the animal with the text in the verse. This is apparent in the use of the B and the D when discussing the bactrian (two humps) and the dromedary (one hump) camels in the poem, HOW TO TELL A CAMEL, and the placing of the words in the shape of a flamingo in the concrete poem, A FLAMINGO.
Appeal to Readers – The poems in this book are very appealing to children. Children love animals and these short, humorous poems are very fun to read. The topics are mostly familiar but when studied more closely, children are very likely to learn new information about animals, such as the difference between one and two humped camels. The topic of animals will continue to appeal to children across time and ethnicity.
Illustrations – The illustrations in this book are very colorful and help the reader to visualize the poem. In the poem BRAGGING IN THE BARNYARD, the illustrations show the rooster strutting around like a prince while the people and the dog have a thinking bubble overhead which shows a plucked chicken ready for the pot. This illustration definitely adds to the humor and understanding of the poem.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
"A collection of marvelous light verse as fresh as spring".--The Horn Book, starred review.
School Library Journal’s Best Book of the Year
Booklist Editor's Choice
Ohio Reading Circle Award.

5. CONNECTIONS
* This book can be used to enhance science vocabulary and teach animal facts.
* This book can be used to teach poetic elements of sound such as rhythm, repetition,
alliteration, and consonance.
* These poems can be used to illustrate the use of puns, word play, and humor.
* This book can be used to teach vocabulary and figurative language.
* This book can be used to teach sound / symbol correspondence.
* This book can be used to promote oral language development.