Beast Feast

by Douglas Florian

cover by Barnes & Noble

Florian, Douglas. Beast Feast. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1994. Print. ISBN: 0-15-295178-4.

Poetic Elements

 This colorful, funny collection of twenty-one original poems depicting different animals consist of rhythmic quirky word play such as “The rhea rheally isn't strange--  It's just an ostrich, rhearranged” and “Just when you think you know the boa, There’s moa and moa and moa and moa.” Florian includes both simple and creative rhymes in this delightful book for young readers.

Appeal

Although varying rhyme schemes are used in the book, they work very well together and young readers will love to chime in on subsequent readings. Some of the words are changed slightly to add humor to the poem. For example, “The pounding spatter Of salty sea Makes the walrus Walrusty” or “The kangaroo loves to leap. Into the air it zooms, While baby’s fast asleep Inside its kangaroom.” These word alterations add humor and imagery to the poetry, ultimately helping young readers learn more about each “beast”.

Overall Quality

Beast Feast was written for ages 5+ and each silly poem will certainly appeal to the target audience. The distinguished awards it earned indicate the overall quality of the book.

The Poets

Beast Feast: Poems and Paintings is a collection of original poems written and illustrated by Douglas Florian, who lives in New York and has illustrated many books for children. The dedication page states, “For my son Raphael” and it’s evident that Florian had a lot of passion for both the writing and painting in this book. It earned the 1995 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as well as an ALA Notable Children’s Book Award.

Layout

It includes a Table of Contents and the aforementioned dedication page to his son, Raphael. A full-page watercolor illustration is included for each “beast” that is as delightful as the poem.

Florian has even included a watercolor portrait of himself with “beastlike” characteristics on the back of the book jacket. A clever aspect of this book is that the text changes to enhance the words. For example, OVERSIZED appears in a poem larger than the other text, the words “upside down” are written upside down, and the word pause is written as “p a u s e.”

Spotlight Poem

The Pigeon

by Douglas Florian

I don’t claim to

Love the pigeon,

But I like it

Just a smidgen.

Pigeons don’t get

No respect

Just because they

Hunt and peck.

When they walk

Their heads go bobbin’—

You don’t see that

In a robin.

They will sit right

On your shoulder.

Not too many

Birds are bolder.

Just be thankful

They’re around

To pick up crumbs

Left on the ground.

Poetry Break

I chose this poem because I felt like most every child would already be familiar with a pigeon, whereas they might not be familiar with a kiwi. I also love the rhythm of the poem and suspect children will as well.

I would introduce the poem (and book) by telling young students the title and then asking them what they thought the book would be about.

Extension Activity: After reading “The Pigeon” along with the other poems in the book, I would have the class brainstorm a familiar animal’s characteristics and write a class poem about that animal modeled after one of the poems in the book.