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.”