Animal Stackers

Learning the ABC's can be F-U-N when you can stack the letters to create clever poetry. Part alphabet book, part word book, animal book, and whimsical poetry Jennifer Belle's quirky yet accessible style blends the genres in an unforgettable way. Coupled with David McPhail's beautiful illustrations, this is a book that families will love reading together.

Kindergarten-Grade 4–An acrostic, alphabet, and poetry book all rolled into one. From Ant to Zebra, animals are presented in colorful single- and double-page entries. The letters of the creatures' names are capitalized and arranged vertically on the pages, and each one begins a line of poetry. The verses are delightful, funny, and sweet, and feature children interacting with a cast of real and imaginary creatures in a series of whimsical situations. For example, a youngster looks into the face of dragon ("Down in Chinatown/Roaring at all who pass,/And accidentally passing/Gas as flames shoot/Out of her/Nostrils") and a boy chauffeurs a jaguar in a fancy car ("Just/A big cat/Growling,/Until you/Agree to give him a ride in your/Rolls-Royce"). Although the poems often include challenging vocabulary, McPhail's watercolor illustrations clarify and enhance the verses and bring the fun-loving animals to life. The pictures are filled with vibrant colors and amusing details and have an old-fashioned quality that works well with the tone of the text. A great choice, particularly in classroom collections in which poetry is part of the curriculum.–Christine E. Carr, Lester C. Noecker Elementary School, Roseland, NJ
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Gr. 1-3. Though Belle hails from the world of grown-up literature, her first children's book is impressively conscious of its audience, integrating a universally appealing topic, an abecedarian structure, and an elegant, easy-to-grasp poetry form that most children will already know. Following a common acrostic pattern, the letters in each featured word (all names of animals, from Ant to Zebra), arranged vertically ("stacked"), serve as the beginning of each line of the poem. The resulting collection of 26 poems is somewhat uneven. Although the weakest entries rely on McPhail's illustrations to bring meanings to light, the strongest have an internal logic and feisty humor that his droll watercolors simply extend. For instance, the artwork illustrating "Elephant," which concludes with the lines "Have to / Ask very / Nicely / To keep him," shows a stunned parent holding a newspaper bearing the headline "Elephant Escapes," as a child leads a pachyderm into the living room. The poems' frequent enjambment should be particularly welcomed by young poets, for whom classroom assignments requiring tidy columns of complete sentences may have dulled the acrostic's sheen. Jennifer Mattson
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