I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky presents more than 100 humorous poems in loose groupings, brought to buoyant life by Urbanovic&#x2019;s lively pen-and-ink gestures. Though uniformly and squarely aimed at the elementary-school funny bone, the poems represent a wide variety of form and style. Some, like &#x201C;The Pelicantaloupes&#x201D; and &#x201C;The Appleopards,&#x201D; imagine an unlikely cross between an animal and a fruit and come accompanied by pronunciation assistance. Others find silliness in everyday circumstance, while most veer toward the hilarious and totally unexpected (like &#x201C;Shopping at a Dragon Store&#x201D;). A few haiku find their way in, as do the odd limerick and concrete poem. Many share a common meter (think &#x201C;Miss Lucy had a steamboat&#x201D;), making them particularly well suited to be read, or chanted, aloud. Urbanovic&#x2019;s cartoony black-and-white line drawings enjoy ample real estate, spreading across pages to reinforce the poetic puns. It&#x2019;s easy to imagine this one being passed around the cafeteria or safely stored in a backpack. Grades 2-4. --Thom Barthelmess