Poetry Review #3

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 1999. LAUGH-ETERIA. Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company.


ISBN: 0152020845.


PLOT SUMMARY
Florian has published another collection of over 100 silly humorous poems designed especially for young children. The topics range from school lunches, to monsters, ogres and dinosaurs. The sparse illustrations are done in brush and ink. The collection does not appear to have an order of presentation but does include a title index at the back of the book. The collection does sport a few concrete poems, give shape and form to the imagery evoked by the text. None of the individual pieces is more than one page long; another strong selling point for the younger readers interest abilities.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The short forms are evidenced by the likes of WILD WALK: “I took my little brother for/A walk into the wild./We met an alligator there-/Now I’m an only child.” The 4-lined verse contains rhyme and distinctive use of rhythm. This collection is bland and does not invite the interest of many people. There is no universality unless it is to hope that all young elementary children will love to hear the silly, nonsense rhymes.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Kirkus Review (1999)
Florian’s seventh collection of verse is also his most uneven; though the flair for clever rhyme that consistently lights up his other books, beginning with Monster Motel (1993), occasionally shows itself—“Hello, my name is Dracula/My clothing is all blackula./I drive a Cadillacula./I am a maniacula”—too many of the entries are routine limericks, putdowns, character portraits, rhymed lists that fall flat on the ear, or quick quips: “It’s hard to be anonymous/When you’re a hippopotamus.” Florian’s language and simple, thick-lined cartoons illustrations are equally ingenuous, and he sticks to tried-and-true subjects, from dinosaurs to school lunch, but the well of inspiration seems dry; revisit his hilarious Bing Bang Boing (1994) instead.

School Library Journal (June 1999)
Gr 2-6This clever collection of light verse, illustrated with childlike brush-and-ink drawings, is sure to draw fans of Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, and other purveyors of nonsense. Favorite topics of humorous poetry monsters, dinosaurs, disgusting foods and overeating, animals, school, and strange people all inhabit this volume. Most of the brief poems contain a wry twist, a terrible pun, an interesting bit of wordplay, or a small allusion that enriches their meanings.

CONNECTIONS
· I shared this book with my own children, who found the selections repetitious and quite boring.
· I do not see evidence of literary merit; just pure entertainment for young children who are a bit sill at times.
· After reading the SPINNING THROUGH THE UNIVERSE and SHOE MAGIC for this assignment, I was sorely disappointed to have selected this collection for review.