BEWARE! These Poems Bite Back!

Big, Bad and a Little Bit Scary, Poems That Bite Back!

Compiled and Illustrated by Wade Zahares

Scholastic Inc., 2002

30 Pages

Poetry

          The alligator on the front cover and the title of the book caught my eye, and I had to read this book! This anthology of poems is as the title says, all about animals that bite! The animals range from viper to alligator to hippopotamus. The poems are humorous and will make you laugh out loud! There are poems included in this book that would be appropriate for students of all elementary school ages. All of the poems in this book were excellent, but my favorite was one by Ogden Nash entitled, “The Panther,”

 

The panther is like a leopard,

Except it hasn’t been peppered.

Should you behold a panther crouch,

Prepare to say Ouch.

Better yet, if called by a panther,

Don’t anther.

          Zahares uses pastels for his illustrations. He uses a variety of warm and cool colors in each double page illustration to match the feel of each individual poem. The poem features informal text placement. The book features an alligator on the wrap around cover. 

          This book would be a great book to recommend to boys who are not very interested in poetry.  It will make them laugh and learn all at the same time. It would make for a great introductory book into a unit on a variety of species of animals. It could be incorporated into an art and language arts lesson by having students write a poem about an animal of their choice and illustrate it using pastels. This book has not received any awards.