Insectlopedia

Florian, Douglas. 1998. INSECTLOPEDIA. New York: Harcout Inc. ISBN 0-15-201306-7

PLOT SUMMARY

A collection of 21 witty and delightful poems dedicated to those lovely insects. The poems provide a wealth of information regarding the insects in a most humorous manner. The book provides further fuel for the imagination as each poem is accompanied by a watercolor illustration done by the author.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Is it an encyclopedia?

Perhaps.

A picture book?

May be.

Is it poetry?

Could be all three.

When most children think of insects, they will rarely jump up and down with joy. Often times, they will cringe and frown! Douglas Florian has done a fantastic job of taking the "ooginess" out of insects. He begins with a caterpillar.

She eats eight leaves at least

To fill her,

Which leaves her like a

Fatterpillar,

Then rents a room inside

A pupa,

And checks out: Madame Butterfly -

How super!

Nevertheless, Florian does not let us forget that these creatures can indeed be ferocious.

The Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are thin.

Mosquitoes are rude.

They feast on your skin

For take-out food.

Most of the poems often talk about the insect as a predator or what the insect does to protect itself from other predators. The Walking stick blends in with other sticks, the Io moth uses her mam-moth eyes to scare off predators, and the Monarch Butterfly has a poison that makes it impossible for swallows to swallow him. They would rather spit him out. So much could be learned just from these delightful limericks! These poems are excellent at either introducing or reinforcing science concepts. The poems would make a great read aloud, but are also a feast for the eyes. Florian includes several concrete poems further providing a visual for children to appreciate.

My second grade students as well as my three year old asked me to repeat some of them. I could also see this book being transformed into some sort of dictionary. Most of the illustrations have the first letter of the name of the insect embedded into the drawing. For all these reasons, this is one book that should be included in every library.

REVIEWS

"Short, clever, witty poems catalogued alphabetically provide details about 21 different spiders and insects. Unique, thought-provoking illustrations accompany the text. There are some difficult words used, like "aggrieved" and "parasitic," but they are few and provide yet another opportunity to learn." - From Children's Literature

"The silly, imaginative verses about whirligig beetles and waterbugs (almost) match the exquisite pictures in playfulness and wit. The result is downright stunning," -From Publisher's Weekly

CONNECTIONS

The poems could easily be clapped, sung to the tune of known songs, or echoed to name a few. The book easily lends itself to be used during Science time for introduction, review and/or reinforcements of science concepts.

Students could also use the poems as formats to create their own poems about insects.