mammalabilia

mammalabilia              

by Douglas Forian

Bibliography  

Florian, D. (2000). Mammalabilia. New York: Harcourt, Inc.  ISBN 0152021671

Summary

Douglas Florian’s mammalabilia consists of twenty-one short poems about wild animals.  Each poem is accompanied by Florian’s interpretive paintings of the animals.  A sampling of titles to whet your whistle?  Okay, here are a few: The Aardvarks, The Tapir, The Bear, The Rhebok, and The Mule.  You can find just the one you want to read by using the table of contents located at the front of the book.

Critical Analysis

These poems are funny, hilarious!  Each one is simple, short and sweet, but the rhythm and rhyme are so appealing that you can read them again and again.  Florian can fit so much imagery into so few words; these poems will fill your mind with pictures.  Some of the poems themselves are pictures, for example, the words of The Camel are shaped into two humps, and the words of The Porcupine form spines.

Your mind doesn’t form pictures well? Never mind. Douglas Florian takes care of that with just right paintings done on primed brown paper bags.  How appropriate for an environmentally themed book of poems! These paintings will appeal to the younger set, and they complement the simplicity and joviality of the poems themselves. Of course we all pick favorites in a book of poems. Mine is "The Mule." Imagine this poem set opposite a full page painting of a mule whose legs have become tree trunks, humorously illustrating the last line. His hind leg/trunk is currently occupied by a woodpecker!

The Mule

Voice of the mule:  bray

Hue of the mule:  bay

Fuel of the mule:  hay

Rule of the mule:  stay

Young children and the adults who read to them will enjoy sharing these poems with each other.

Review Excerpts

* School Library Journal  “Florian has created a zoological garden of delights.”

* Kirkus “His verses are witty and succinct, but perfectly descriptive.”

* Publishers Weekly "...brims with whimsy and fun. An irresistible homage to mammal memorabilia."

Connections

* Pair this title with Mary Ann Hoberman and Malcah Zeldis's A Fine Fat Pig (HarperCollins, 1991) to show children the diversity of images that animals may evoke for poets and artists. (Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

* Here is Douglas Florian’s blog.  On it you will find links to all his other books, plus lots of poetry.  This blogs seems to be aimed at adults, perhaps parents of his fans.

* My nine year old daughter thought this was an excellent book, poems and illustrations.  My twelve year old son thought the poems were “really funny”, except the ones that you had to twist the book to read – that bugged him. The illustrations just didn’t appeal to him.  

* Douglas Florian is an artist as well as a poet.  View his art, his thoughts about his art, and his resume here.