Poetry Review-INSECTLOPEDIA

1. Bibliography

Florian, Douglas. 1998. Insectlopedia. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152012067

2. Plot Summary

In this deliciously creepy crawly book by Douglas Florian, double page spreads are dedicated to 21 different members of the insect "community". Each insect is described in poem and accompanied by an illustration on the opposite page. Poems range from silly ("O Daddy/Daddy O/How'd you get those legs to grow...") to dramatic (Dragonfly: "I am the dragon:/Down on your knees!").

3. Critical Summary

The rhythmic poetic quality is the strong point of this book. Whether it be funny or educational, the clever rhymes are fun to read and listen to. Also, the way the design of the text "acts out" the poem is very interesting. For example, the words to the inchworm's poem arch up in the shape of the insect, the text of the whirligig beetle's poem goes around in a circle to describe how the beetles "twirl", and when the locusts make your grass "disappear", the word also takes on a ghostly erased look. The actual content of the poems are educational as well as entertaining, letting children know why walking sticks look the way they do, the qualities of a termite nest, and the role of a male giant water bug. The illustrations, also by Doug Florian, were done in watercolors on brown paper bags in a collage style. They humorously and imaginatively build on the realistic but whimsical descriptions of the insects in the poetry. Slightly more sophisticated than picture book illustrations intended for younger audiences, these illustrations are perfect to capture the interest of elementary grade readers.

4. Review Excerpts

School Library Journal Starred Review-"Shaped or pattern poems about the inchworm, whirligig beetles, and mound-building termites work particularly well. The words are arranged in pleasing patterns and the rhythms fit the characteristics of the subjects. The design adds to the overall appeal."

Booklist Starred Review-"The verse rhymes at the ends of lines, and often internally as well, as Florian plays with sound and meter, word and sense, and even the placement of words on the page to create poems that children will enjoy..."

Kirkus-"The watercolor illustrations, abstract and stylized, achieve a comic effect by incorporating collage elements reminiscent of an entomologist's field notes."

5. Connections

*This book would complement any elementary grade science lesson on insects.

*Children could also make up original poems about other insects that weren't mentioned.

Other books about our animal friends written and illustrated by Douglas Florian are:

Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs. ISBN 0152052488

Mammalabilia. ISBN 0152050248

In the Swim. ISBN 0152024379

Beast Feast. ISBN 0152017372

On the Wing. ISBN 0152023666