Flamingos on the Roof
Grade 3–6–These 29 nonsense poems, written in a variety of rhymed meters, are deliciously loaded with alliterative and assonant sounds and filled with delightful doggerel. Brown's playful verses are foolish (Life is a dream/with a nautical theme/in a barnacle built for two.); preposterous (Light bulbs on a birthday cake./What a difference that would make!); exhilarating (Boogie to the banjo./Bop to the bongo./Freeze like an igloo./Stomp like a buffalo in the Combo Tango); and filled with wordplay (Allicatter Gatorpillar/by and by/my oh my!/Allibutter Gatorfly!). The author's strong command of poetic form and his way with words make creating nonsense rhyme look effortless. Full-page, flat acrylic illustrations, most painted in harmonious jewel tones, face single-toned pages of text in a variety of colors. The style is abstract with a folk-art quality, often cartoonish, and always whimsical. The characters have humorous, stylized features and varied skin tones, ranging from pale blue to light green to burnt umber. Packed with amusing details, the paintings consistently expand upon the text. Read aloud, these poems are sure to delight listeners. They also provide a great impetus for inspiring youngsters to write nonsense poetry of their own.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.