The Llama Who Had no Pajama

Bibliography
Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Llama Who Had No Pajama. by Betty Fraser.
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-205571-4

Plot Summary
This is a collection of 100 favorite poems by Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman. The poems are of universal topics such as birthdays, family, animals, insects, opposites and time.

Critical Analysis
The Llama who had no Pajama is an individual poet compilation of poems by author Mary Ann Hoberman from 2008 to 2010 and beautifully illustrated by illustrator Betty Fraser. The Language is full of rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and repetition of sounds. The use of alliteration is found in the poem “Permutations” such as in the flea flew high to flee the fly. The poem “Termite” is full of rhyme. At the end of each line we find the following words that rhyme: sort, report, resort, state, rate, cooperate, find, blind, kind, kings, stings, and things. There are insect riddles as in “Who Am I” and animal tongue twisters as in the poem “Gazelle” 'O gaze on the graceful gazelle as it grazes'. The collection of 100 poems will resonate with young children since the poems center around themes young children will be able to relate. For example in the poem, “Brother” where the poet complains about having a little brother who is a bother and the poem “Let’s Dress Up” where little girls are enjoy playing dress up in grown-up clothes. The poems will also resound with adults since there seems to be a nostalgic feeling in the poems of things we enjoyed as children such as the rain. There is also an index at the end of the book where the first line of each poem is provided as a quick reference. The watercolor illustrations are simple but colorful and do not overwhelm the poems. The snow-white page backgrounds enhance the detailed and lively drawings that accompany every poem.

Review Excerpt(s)
School Library Journal-“Hoberman’s rhythms are lively and agile.”

Publishers Weekly-“This inventively illustrated collection brims with enough wordplay and silliness to please a room full of young wordsmiths.”

Connections
*The Llama Who Had No Pajama was awarded the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children for Mary Ann Hoberman’s lifetime of poetry writing.
* The animal poems can be a great introduction to science themes.

Flamingos on the Roof

Bibliography
Brown, Calef. Flamingos on the Roof. By Calef Brown
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0618-56298-5

Plot Summary
In this compilation of poems written and illustrated by Calef Brown we are introduced to 28 poems that vary from topic to topic. The topics range from a biker named Bob to televisions in a taxi cab and worms.

Critical Analysis
The poems vary greatly from poems that rhyme like “Poseidon’s Hair” where we see words such as kelp, help, toupee, away. Then there are other poems, for example “Sally” where the poet compares people like Sally to Medusa from Greek Mythology. Then there’s “Combo Tango” where the poem is actually a simple tango. In “Allicater Gatorpillar” we see a play on words such as combining the words alligator with caterpillar. “Weatherbee’s Diner” is a great example of a poem with rhyme. Here we see words like eat, street, rain, main, loud, cloud, treat, sleet, dessert, hurt, warm, storm. The acrylic illustrations are lively and filled with colorful and wacky pictures. In the poem “Allicatter Gatorpillar” we see a butterfly with an alligator’s body and a caterpillar with an alligators head. Then in “Poseidon’s Hair” Poseidon appears with his green kelp hair and a tattoo on his arm stating king of the sea.

Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist-“An exuberant debut, equally enjoyable read silently or aloud.”

Publishers Weekly-“A traveling circus of poems…weird and wonderfully catchy.”

School Library Journal-“A gleeful book for solo or shared reading.”

Connections
*May be compared with non-silly poems from “The Llama Who had no Pajama.”
* It makes a wacky read aloud book of non-sense poems.”

What My Mother Doesn't Know

Bibliography
Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN 978-0-689-855535

Plot Summary
In What My Mother Doesn’t Know we meet Sophie, a teenager who is almost fifteen. The entire book is about Sophie’s teenage life. We are introduced to her best friends Rachel and Grace and all the fun teenage things they love doing together and to the many boy crushes Sophie has.

Critical Analysis
This verse novel is filled with themes young adults will be able to relate to such as teen age love, parent and teen relationships, school friendships, and cultural acceptance. What my mother doesn’t know is written in a colloquial conversational language from the main characters point of view. The book is organized as a group of free verse poems written in short lines that are easy to read that will appeal to reluctant teenage girl readers. The story moves and evolves quickly making it a quick and enjoyable dramatic read aloud novel.

Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist starred review-“Fast, funny, touching.”

Publishers Weekly-“Honest, destined to captivate.”

Kirkus starred review-“A verse experience that will leave readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.”

Connections
*What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a great verse novel to inspire reluctant teenage girl readers.
*Must read What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, the novel in verse, from Robin’s (Sophie’s teenage love) point of view.
*Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, another acclaimed novel by Sonya Sones for reluctant readers.
*Compare and Contrast with another verse novel such as Heartbeat by Sharon Creech.