Poems--Insectlopedia

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 1998. Insectlopedia. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152013067

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Insectlopedia includes concrete poems, ballad meters, couplets, and rhyming verses about 21 types of insects. The author uses poems about creepy and crawly insects to engage, inform, and humor kids. The watercolor illustrations are brilliant and the collages connect the various unrelated abstract drawings. Florian writes about weevils ('We are ruinous./ We are rotten./ We drill holes/ In bolls of cotton'), a mayfly ('A mayfly flies/ In May or June./ Its life is over/ Far too soon'),

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Florian uses repetition of the beginning sounds of words to create hilarious tongue twisters that would be great to read aloud. The illustration of the insects and the poems describing the insects are on opposite pages. The vivid drawings add depth to the verse. I especially like the use of shape to visualize and inch worm. His creative invention of words like “spiderobic” and “faterpiller” will appeal to readers of all ages.

The author’s use of rhyme, rhythm and figurative language creates animation brings each insect to life. The use of humor and wit make the poems interesting to children and adults: “Mosquitoes are thin./Mosquitoes are rude./They feast on your skin/for take-out food.”

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Publishers Weekly, 03/18/2002

"The silly, imaginative verses about whirligig beetles and waterbugs (almost) match the exquisite pictures in playfulness and wit. The result is downright stunning," said PW. Ages 5-8. (Apr.) Publishers Weekly, A Reed Business Information Publication

School Library Journal, 04/01/1998

Gr 2-6?As he did in Beast Feast (1994), On The Wing (1996), and In the Swim (1997, all Harcourt), Florian offers 21 short, inventive poems and paintings that create playful images of animals. Here, the subjects are arthropods such as the mayfly, praying mantis, hornet, black widow spider, and weevils. The verse form is as varied as the creatures presented. 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. Each selection is given its own page, allowing for the use of large type and plenty of glossy white space, and paired with a full-page watercolor with a neat border of white. These portraits build on the imaginatively integrated realistic and anthropomorphic images created in the text. There are other books of poetry about insects and lots of collections of humorous verses about animals but none match Insectlopedia.?Carolyn Angus, The Claremont Graduate School, CA

BookList, 03/15/1998

Gr. 3-5. Florian, the author/illustrator of beast feast (1994) and on the wing (1996), now presents a witty collection of short poems about insects and spiders. 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, such as "The io moth / Has mam-moth eyes / That are not real--/ They're a disguise / To ward off birds / And other creatures, / Like garter snakes / And science teachers." The illustration on the facing page shows that the "mam-moth eyes" are eyespots on the moth's wings. The book is handsomely designed, with each short poem appearing on a large white page across from a full-color illustration. The artwork consists of collages of drawn and painted images and printed letters on paper that is cut and juxtaposed for effect. The clever artwork, deftly constructed, and the entertaining collection of insect and arachnid verse it illustrates will delight readers. ((Reviewed March 15, 1998)) -- Carolyn Phelan. Booklist, published by the American Library Association.

5. CONNECTIONS
Encourage children to make up and use drawings to create their own poems about insects, plants, or animals. Display poems and award prizes for the most creative illustrations.

Other poems by Douglas Florian:

Lizards, frogs, and polliwogs: poems and paintings 015202591X
Mammalabilia: poems and paintings 0152021671

Beast Feast : poems and paintings 0152017372

Other poems about insects:

Insect Soup : bug poems by Barry Louis Polisar 0938663224

The little buggers by J. Patrick Lewis 0803717695

Bugs and critters I have known by Ann Heiskell Rickey 0966783417