Books by Jack Prelutsky
If Not for the Cat
Seventeen haiku composed by master poet Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by renowned artist Ted Rand ask you to think about seventeen favorite residents of the animal kingdom in a new way.
On these glorious and colorful pages you will meet a mouse, a skunk, a beaver, a hummingbird, ants, bald eagles, jellyfish, and many others. Who is who? The answer is right in front of you. But how can you tell? Think and wonder and look and puzzle it out!
A creature whispers:
If not for the cat,
And the scarcity of cheese,
I could be content.
Who is this creature?
What does it like to eat?
Can you solve the riddle?
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The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders
Twenty-eight rollicking rhymes from the undisputed master of hilarious verse for children, Jack Prelutsky, are matched with enchanting illustrations by Petra Mathers in this uproarious poetry collection.
In this collection there are tongue-twisting (but real) places to visit, such as Tuscaloosa and Winnemucca. There are remarkable sights, such as an elephant perched in a sycamore tree. And there are unforgettable characters, including Granny Gooding, Sarah Small, and Barnaby Boone, all of whose poems are guaranteed to make you smile. Young, sweet, and simply silly, you can bet your boots that this book will have everyone seeing red—suspenders, that is!
From Minneapolis to the Grand Canyon, Tuscaloosa to Seattle, families across the country will love this irresistible modern classic!
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The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders
Twenty-eight rollicking rhymes from the undisputed master of hilarious verse for children, Jack Prelutsky, are matched with enchanting illustrations by Petra Mathers in this uproarious poetry collection.
In this collection there are tongue-twisting (but real) places to visit, such as Tuscaloosa and Winnemucca. There are remarkable sights, such as an elephant perched in a sycamore tree. And there are unforgettable characters, including Granny Gooding, Sarah Small, and Barnaby Boone, all of whose poems are guaranteed to make you smile. Young, sweet, and simply silly, you can bet your boots that this book will have everyone seeing red—suspenders, that is!
From Minneapolis to the Grand Canyon, Tuscaloosa to Seattle, families across the country will love this irresistible modern classic!
Copies
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Awful Ogre's Awful Day
Beloved children's poet Jack Prelutsky and acclaimed illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky have created a tour de force picture book of epic proportions and infinite appeal!
It's pouring. The wind is blowing down trees. Awful Ogre's rattlesnake wakes him. He tickles his piranha, scatters his rats, and disengages his leeches. Another wonderful day is about to begin.
Awful Ogre, huge, hungry, horrible—and totally lovable, will steal the heart of every reader. Larger than life—larger, in fact, than all other ogres, Awful Ogre packs into one day enough excitement, imagination, emotion, and sheer ebullience to last most of us a lifetime.
New York Public Library's “One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing,” a School Library Journal Best Book, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book
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It's Raining Pigs & Noodles
The master of mischievous rhyme, Jack Prelutsky, and his partner in crime, James Stevenson, have whipped up a storm of more than one hundred hilarious poems and zany drawings. Grab your umbrella—and make sure it's a big one!
It's raining pigs and noodles,
it's pouring frogs and hats,
chrysanthemums and poodles,
bananas, brooms, and cats.
Assorted prunes and parrots
are dropping from the sky,
here comes a bunch of carrots,
some hippopotami.
Copies
No copies available.
It's Raining Pigs & Noodles
The master of mischievous rhyme, Jack Prelutsky, and his partner in crime, James Stevenson, have whipped up a storm of more than one hundred hilarious poems and zany drawings. Grab your umbrella—and make sure it's a big one!
It's raining pigs and noodles,
it's pouring frogs and hats,
chrysanthemums and poodles,
bananas, brooms, and cats.
Assorted prunes and parrots
are dropping from the sky,
here comes a bunch of carrots,
some hippopotami.
Copies
No copies available.
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young
First published in 1986 and just as fresh and relevant today, this widely acclaimed, child-friendly poetry anthology is now being reissued with a striking new jacket. In his introduction to this book Jim Trelease, bestselling author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, writes, “No one better recognizes the essence of the child-poetry connection than poet and anthologist Jack Prelutsky. . . . Here are more than 200 little poems to feed little people with little attention spans to help both grow. Marc Brown’s inviting illustrations add a visual dimension to the poems, which further engage young imaginations.” The poems are by 119 of the best-known poets of the 20th century.
This book has been selected as a Common Core State Standards Text Exemplar (Grades K-1, Poetry) in Appendix B.
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Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young
This long beloved poetry treasury from acclaimed anthologist Jack Prelutsky is now available in paperback for the very first time!
America's favorite children's poet and anthologist, Jack Prelutsky has selected more than 200 poems for every occasion, every event, every experience that a young child encounters, from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night, all written by popular and well-known twentieth century poets. Each poem is artfully brought to life in the bright, playful illustrations of award-winning artist Marc Brown.
From cover to cover, this fantastic anthology is filled with timeless fun that will open young minds to the magic and meaning of words and enchant both parents and children for generations to come.
"A spirited collection, covering the day from dawn to dusk. Exuberantly illustrated." —The New York Times Book Review
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Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme
When Jack Prelutksy posted the first couplet of a funny poem on a Web site and invited children to finish it, he expected about 100 responses. He got thousands. Now he has come up with an anthology of poems on 10 popular subjects by well-known poets and combined it with his own “poemstarts.” Included with each poemstart are suggestions for various ways the reader might continue the poem. With large type and a big red stop sign, it is made abundantly clear that the reader get a pencil and paper to complete the poem. Jack Prelutsky has been credited with making poetry fun for children to read. Now he is making poetry fun for children to write!
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Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast: And Other Tasty Poems
Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast is guaranteed to make readers laugh, imagine, write, and dream.
“A quick-witted delight.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Perfectly in pitch.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A well-written, must-have collection of poems.”—School Library Journal (starred review)
A collection from the celebrated inaugural Young People’s Poet Laureate and bestselling poet Jack Prelutsky, featuring more than one hundred original poems!
From a lizard playing a mandolin (although not very well) to the surprised guest of honor (at a birthday party he threw for himself), there’s something for everyone in Jack Prelutsky’sHard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast. Illustrator Ruth Chan’s lively and hilarious black-and-white art jumps off the page and illuminates a wide array of poetic forms, from haiku to concrete poems and everything in between.
This collection is full of the wit, humor, and imagination that has made Jack Prelutsky a household name and one of the most beloved poets for children. His poetry books for kids include such favorites as A Pizza the Size of the Sun and The New Kid on the Block.
Includes black-and-white line art on every page, plus an index.
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It's Valentine's Day (I Can Read Level 3)
These fourteen silly, sweet poems by nationally bestselling author Jack Prelutsky are perfect for Valentine's Day. This Level 4 I Can Read title is ideal for readers who are ready for wordplay, exciting themes, and fun vocabulary words!
Fourteen easy-to-read poems go straight to the heart—and the funny bone—of the fourteenth of February. Jack Prelutsky, the nation's first children's poet laureate and a popular and bestselling poet, does for Valentine's Day what he has already done for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween—and the results are delectable. Publishers Weekly said, "Cheers for Prelutsky, ingenious rhymester beloved by children who recognize themselves in collections like this." It's Valentine's Day! is illustrated in full color, and it is a perfect choice for independent readers as well as a perfect bridge to chapter books.
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My Parents Think I'm Sleeping (I Can Read Level 3)
From Children’s Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky and illustrator Yossi Abolafia, My Parents Think I'm Sleeping is the perfect book to get young readers excited about bedtime.
This Level 3 I Can Read book is a funny collection of poems about a boy who should be sleeping, but manages to find more than just storybooks and his model rocket kit to keep him awake.
From reading under the covers to watching shadows dance on the wall, these fourteen funny and spooky nighttime poems show that a child's life begins at bedtime!
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It's Thanksgiving! (I Can Read Level 3)
It's time for turkey! The parade is about to start. The pumpkin pie is in the oven. The whole family is gathered around the table. And everybody wants to pull the wishbone! From Children's Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky comes a scrumptious helping of twelve Thanksgiving poems to enjoy every day of the year!
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Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems
Jack Prelutsky has written a series of truly inventive and entertaining poems that are perfectly paired with Carin Berger’s witty collage pieces. It’s a beautiful picture book with a look and feel unlike any of Prelutsky’s prior work.
So put on your pith helmet and prepare to explore a wilderness of puns and rhymes where birds, beasts, vegetables, and flowers have been mysteriously scrambled together to create creatures you've never seen before—and are unlikely to meet again!
Your guides—Jack Prelutsky, poet laureate of the elementary school set, and award-winning illustrator Carin Berger—invite you to join them on an adventure you will never forget!
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The Wizard
The wizard, watchful, waits alone within his tower of cold gray stone and ponders in his wicked way what evil deeds he'll do this day.
What do you think the wizard is planning to do? Conjure a magic spell? Turn a frog into a flea? Fill a cauldron with bubbling brew?
You may think you know . . . but watch out. Because if the wizard is bored, he may come looking for you!
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Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem
Have you ever tried to write a poem about a pizza? How about a pig? How about a pigeon, penguin, potato, Ping-Pong, parrot, puppy, pelican, porcupine, pie, pachyderm, or your parents?
Jack Prelutsky has written more than one thousand poems about all of these things—and many others. In this book he gives you the inside scoop on writing poetry and shows you how you can turn your own experiences and stories about your family, your pets, and your friends into poems. He offers tips, advice, and secrets about writing and provides some fun exercises to help you get started (or unstuck). You'll also get a behind-the-scenes look at the ingredients of some of his most popular poems. If you are a poet, want to be a poet, or if you have to write a poem for homework and you just need some help, then this is the book for you!
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Stardines Swim High Across the Sky: and Other Poems
Beloved and bestselling poet Jack Prelutsky and New York Times Best Illustrated artist Carin Berger team up to create a new collection of silly, strange, and sensational animal poems! Told through couplets and visually arresting shadow boxes, dioramas, and cut-paper collage, Stardines Swim High Across the Sky evokes both natural history museums and wild and silly fantasy. "The zoology may be suspect, but the laughs are guaranteed."—Publishers Weekly
Sixteen extraordinary imagined creatures inhabit the pages of this unique, inspired, humorous picture book ideal for sharing together, and for reading again and again. Jack Prelutsky reinvents many familiar and beloved animals by combining inanimate objects with them (so, for example, a pair of pants and an anteater become a panteater). Carin Berger's illustrations are showstoppers. Her shadow boxes and dioramas utilize vintage type, ephemera, and such elements as ribbon, cards, buttons, and wood and bring the animals to life. Read it aloud, read it together: this is a catalog of effervescent silliness and will undoubtedly inspire young poets and artists alike. "The total effect is both whimsical and fascinating, with rich language in the poems and unexpected objects in the pictures to return to over and over again.'—The Horn Book
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The Silver Moon: Lullabies and Cradle Songs
This lavishly illustrated collection of twenty lullabies and cradle songs by the nationally bestselling poet Jack Prelutsky is a perfect gift for the new baby in the family.
Jack Prelutsky, a recording artist and the first children's poet laureate, has been publishing bestselling poetry collections and picture books for more than thirty years. The Silver Moon is a collection of twenty original lullabies and cradle songs perfect for reading (or singing) at bedtime or naptime. Jui Ishida's lush and spectacular illustrations accompany lullabies about the animal kingdom, about the moon and stars, and about loved ones closer to home. Jack Prelutsky has included the music for four of the lullabies on the last pages of the book; the remaining music can be downloaded at the author's website.
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I've Lost My Hippopotamus
In the tradition of Jack Prelutsky's classic poetry collections The New Kid on the Block, It's Raining Pigs & Noodles, and A Pizza the Size of the Sun, here is a book packed with more than 100 funny poems and silly pictures. Most of the poems are about animals—some are big and some are small, some have unusual interests, and some are just plain unusual.
Some of the animals in this book are real. They include: the hippopotamus (she's missing) the elephant (he's artistically talented) the octopus (it's great at multitasking).
Others may not be quite so real. These include: the wiguana (very hairy, for a lizard) the halibutterfly (there's something fishy about it) the gludu (quite clingy).
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Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face: And Other Poems: Some of the Best of Jack Prelutsky
This magnificent treasury of more than one hundred of Jack Prelutsky's most celebrated verses, along with fifteen all-new poems, is a tribute to his gifts to children's literature over the past forty years. Lushly illustrated by rising star Brandon Dorman and featuring a CD with classic performances by the poet himself, it's the perfect volume for any poetry lover's bookshelf.
When you're in the world of Jack Prelutsky, anything can happen. Ogres run wild, dragons sing, and baby uggs hatch. . . . Frogs wear red suspenders in a rainstorm of pigs and noodles. . . . Scranimals gallivant under a pizza the size of the sun. . . .
Even the new kid on the block can see that the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate is something big. So, what are you waiting for? Let your parents think you're sleeping, and ride a purple pelican to a land where imagination is king, ridiculous rhymes rule, and laughing out loud is guaranteed! These are Jack Prelutsky's greatest hits!
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My Dog May Be a Genius
Have you ever encountered an underwater marching band, a pig in a bathing suit, a pet orangutan, or a witch in a hardware store? Have you ever sat with a skunk in a courtroom, shopped for a dinosaur, or conversed with a Bupple, a Wosstrus, a Violinnet, or a Celloon? You will have, once you've read this exuberant collaboration from Jack Prelutsky and his "partner in crime" James Stevenson.
The "reigning czars of silliness" have once again teamed up to bring readers an irresistible collection of poems that will have tongues twisting, imaginations soaring, and sides aching with laughter. The result is genius, indeed.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
So much to see! So much to do! Open this book, and you can . . . smell the tall flowers in Aunt Giraffe′s garden, sip juice with a big blue goose, eat oodles of noodles with some poodles, chirp a cheery song with a little bluebird, fish in a frosty pond, and much, much more! With Jack Prelutsky′s twenty-eight hilarious poems and Petra Mathers′s brilliant, beautiful paintings, this classic collection for the youngest child is filled to the brim with smiles and silliness.
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Me I Am!
I am the only ME I AM
who qualifies as me;
no ME I AM has been before,
and none will ever be.
Three very different children reveal their individual personalities in a series of visual mini-adventures. Readers meet a mischievous tomboy who would rather roller-skate than wear a frilly dress, an inquisitive nature-loving boy, and an artistic ballerina who puts her own spin on Swan Lake. Finally, in a wild and funny climax, the three collide – only to discover a world full of unique and special "ME's."
With exuberant art and gleeful verse, this empowering celebration of individuality and diversity is just right for any young child discovering his or her own self – and the fun of being ME!
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Good Sports: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing, and More
Exhilarating, all-new, kid-friendly rhymes capture the range of emotions, from winning to losing to the sheer joy of participating, that children experience as they discover the games of their choice. Jack Prelutsky, a virtuoso at making poetry fun for the elementary school crowd, includes in this inspired collection poems about baseball, soccer, football, skating, swimming, gymnastics, basketball, karate, and more. His signature lighthearted humor in verse that trips off the tongue is coupled here with the 2006 Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka's lickety-split, stylized (and stylish) watercolors. Every page is a blaze of color and motion. Whether Good Sports will create good sports remains to be seen, but it will prove to young boys (and girls) that reading poetry can be fun.
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Good Sports: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing, and More
Exhilarating, all-new, kid-friendly verses capture the range of emotions, from the thrill of winning to the agony of losing to the sheer joy of participating. Jack Prelutsky, America's first children's poet laureate and a virtuoso at making poetry fun for the elementary school crowd, includes in this collection poems about the popular sports that kids play—team sports, individual sports, and even backyard frisbee tossing. The bouncy rhymes beg to be read aloud and lend themselves to easy recitation. Caldecott Medal Winner Chris Raschka's stylized watercolors are a blaze of color and motion. An ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book of 2007, this exuberant picture book proves that poetry can be as much fun as playing games!
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The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System
Jack Prelutsky’s exploration of outer space is not for the faint of heart. No friendly little E.T.–type aliens await your arrival. There are many imaginative ways to perish in these darkly comedic cautionary verses about unexplored worlds so far beyond our solar system. The final poem is an environmental tour de force that packs a wallop. Here are poems the older reader will find great fun to memorize and rattle off to anyone who will listen! And there is a special bonus: anagrams for the kid who loves word puzzles.
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The Carnival of the Animals (Book & CD)
A great way to introduce children to classical music.
America’s first Children's Poet Laureate has written all-new verses to accompany the composer Camille Saint-Saëns’s The Carnival of the Animals, and the illustrator of the Harry Potter books has turned these rollicking rhymes into a picture-book fun fest. Included is a CD of the music and of Jack Prelutsky reading the verses. A note to parents and teachers by Judith Bachleitner, head of the music department at the prestigious Rudolf Steiner School in New York City, suggests ways preschoolers can act out the music—tromp like an elephant, hop like a kangaroo, glide like a swan—or, for older children, be creatively inspired by this joyful work.
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The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
The most accessible and joyous introduction to the world of poetry!
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children offers both funny and illuminating poems for kids personally selected by the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate, Jack Prelutsky. Featuring a wealth of beloved classic poems from the past and modern glittering gems, every child who opens this treasury will finda world of surprises and delights which will instill a lifelong love of poetry. Featuring 572 unforgettable poems, and over 400 one-of-a-kind illustrations from the Caldecott-winning illustrator of the Frog and Toad series, Arnold Lobel, this collection is, quite simply, the perfect way to introduce children to the world of poetry.
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Worlds Of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children
by Katherine Paterson, Jack Prelutsky, Maurice Sendak, Jean Fritz, Rosemary Wells, Jill Krementz
Six prominent children's authors, including Maurice Sendak, Rosemary Wells, and Jack Prelutsky, agree that to enter the worlds that children inhabit, you must possess the magic word - honesty.
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Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!
by Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky, Lane Smith
Started by Dr. Seuss, finished by Jack Prelutsky, and illustrated by Lane Smith, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! is a joyous ode to individuality starring unsinkable teacher Miss Bonkers and the quirky Diffendoofer School (which must prove it has taught its students how to think--or have them sent to dreary Flobbertown). Included is an introduction by Dr. Seuss's longtime editor explaining how the book came to be and reproductions of Dr. Seuss's original pencil sketches and hand-printed notes for the book—a true find for all Seuss collectors! Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith pay homage to the Good Doctor in their own distinctive ways, the result of which is the union of three one-of-a-kind voices in a brand-new, completely original book that is greater than the sum of its parts. For all of us who will never forget our school days and that special teacher, here is a book to give and to get.
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Ride a Purple Pelican (Mulberry Books)
It is hard to believe that Cincinnati Patty, Justin Austin, Pennington Poe, and the little pink pig in Arkansas have not been chanted and sung about by children for generations. But it is not hard to believe that they Will be chanted and sung about for generations to come! Jack Prelutsky and Garth Williams have created a nursery world, peopled with unforgettable characters. Come and meet your new friends. They will be old friends soon!
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Beneath a Blue Umbrella
From the puppies in Philadelphia to the piglets in Wichita, west to the Great Salt Lake (where the big green frog lives), and south to the Mardi Gras celebration -- here are poems and pictures for everyone to love. Ride a Purple Pelican confirmed Jack Prelutsky and Garth Williams's place in the hearts (and on the tongues) of young Americans. And Beneath a Blue Umbrella is a worthy successor. Here is a book for adults to share with children -- and for children to share with adults and with each other.
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Ride a Purple Pelican
It is hard to believe that Cincinnati Patty, Justin Austin, Pennington Poe, and the little pink pig in Arkansas have not been chanted and sung about by children for generations. But it is not hard to believe that they Will be chanted and sung about for generations to come! Jack Prelutsky and Garth Williams have created a nursery world, peopled with unforgettable characters. Come and meet your new friends. They will be old friends soon!
Copies
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The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep
"In a companion volume to Nightmares, poet and artist again collaborate to elicit feelings of exquisite terror."--Horn Book. "Prelutsky's rhymes are as lethal, lithe, and literate as ever, and Lobel wrings every atmospheric ounce out of them."--School Library Journal.
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The New Kid on the Block
From beloved and bestselling poet Jack Prelutsky come over 100 hilarious poems about strange creatures and people—from jellyfish stew to a bouncing mouse, to the very unexpected new kid! For fans of Shel Silverstein and Louis Sachar's Wayside School series. “The illustrations bring the frivolity to a fever pitch.”—School Library Journal.
Open this book to any page to begin your exploration. Here are poems about things that you may never have thought about before. You'll be introduced to jellyfish stew, a bouncing mouse, a ridiculous dog, and a boneless chicken.
You'll learn why you shouldn't argue with a shark, eat a dinosaur, or have an alligator for a pet. You'll meet the world's worst singer and the greatest video game player in history. You'll even find an invitation to a dragon's birthday party....
This playful collection is a wonderful introduction to the pleasures of poetry and word play from a master of the genre, Jack Prelutsky.
“It’s the author’s joyous sense of the absurd that propels the reader from page to page.”—Horn Book (starred review)
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A Pizza the Size of the Sun
From the best-selling team of Jack Prelutsky and James Stevenson, here is another collection of wondrously rich, clever, funny, and delectable poems and black-and-white drawings destined to become favorites.
Discover and enjoy a dozen duhduhs, a puzzled python, and the coolest teenage hippopotamus you’ll ever meet. Meet Miss Misinformation, Swami Gourami, and Gladiola Gloppe (and her Soup Shoppe), and delight in a backwards poem, a poem that ever ends, and scores of others that will be changed, read, and loved by readers of every age. Whether you begin at the beginning or just open the book at random, you won't stop smiling.
“Prelutsky’s a natural rhymester. He has a keen sense of what tickles kids.”—Kirkus Reviews
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A Pizza the Size of the Sun
From the best-selling team of Jack Prelutsky and James Stevenson, here is another collection of wondrously rich, clever, funny, and delectable poems and black-and-white drawings destined to become favorites.
Discover and enjoy a dozen duhduhs, a puzzled python, and the coolest teenage hippopotamus you’ll ever meet. Meet Miss Misinformation, Swami Gourami, and Gladiola Gloppe (and her Soup Shoppe), and delight in a backwards poem, a poem that ever ends, and scores of others that will be changed, read, and loved by readers of every age. Whether you begin at the beginning or just open the book at random, you won't stop smiling.
“Prelutsky’s a natural rhymester. He has a keen sense of what tickles kids.”—Kirkus Reviews
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