Module 14- SLIS 5420

Scranimals

By Jack Prelutsky

Prelutsky, J. (2002). Scranimals. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Summary

Two young children are on an adventure to Scranimal island, where there live very unique creatures. Each of these amazing creatures is a mixture of animal, plant, fruit, or vegetable. Some of these remarkable Scranimals include the Bananaconda, Porcupineapple, and Broccolion. This book is filled with fun and quirky rhymes and poems depicting the wonderful inhabitants of this whimsical island.

Impressions

I am not a big fan of poetry, in general, but I really love this book! I really enjoy Prelutsky’s work, as it is usually quite humorous and fun for the reader. I don’t care for stuffy, formal poetry, so this book is a great choice for someone like me. I can appreciate the rhyme and effort  of the book without feeling like I just read something I HAD to read. I will be promoting this book and more of Prelutsky’s work to my students when discussing poetry.

Reviews

Prelutsky's poems and Sís's illustrations describe "potatoads," "bananacondas," "hippopotamushrooms," and other hybrid residents of Scranimal Island. By combining the name of one animal with that of another animal, plant, or fungi, the poet shows how playing with language can lead to silliness, while still following most of nature's rules: if there were such things as "broccolions," they would logically prey upon "antelopetunias." After meeting these intriguing creatures, readers can try their hand at their own cross-pollination of species with words and pictures.

Engelfried, S. (2004). Scranimals (Book). School Library Journal, 50(6), 58.

Kids will easily get and appreciate most of the combinations (the Potatoad, the Radishark); others require a greater level of sophistication (the Camelberta Peach, the Cardinalbacore), though a helpful chart appears on the back cover. Sís's simultaneously imaginative and concrete illustrations transform a nice-enough collection of related poems into a unified whole.

Parravano, M. V. (2003). Scranimals. Horn Book Magazine, 79(1), 91.

Suggestions for Use

I would love to use this book with a poetry unit. I like the fact that this book has the rhyming element, which is what most students look for in poetry, at least initially. But even more than that, I would like to show the students how poetry can be fun and whimsical to write and to read. I think many times kids get the idea that poetry has to be very formal and stuffy, and any opportunity I can take to show them otherwise is a chance I don’t want to miss.