Collect The New Kid On The Block Originated By James Stevenson Volume

of Shel Silverstein and Dr, Seuss, one would be hardpressed to come up with an American composer of juvenile poetry who was more a fixture over the course of his or her long career than Jack Prelutsky.
His books were brought to life by some of the finest illustrators of his day, a veritable Hall of Fame of the art form including Victoria Chess, Brandon Dorman, James Stevenson illustrator of The New Kid on the Block, Dan Yaccarino, Peter Sís, Paul O.
Zelinsky, Chris Raschka, Garth Williams, and Arnold Lobel, collaborators he conspired with diligently to set the perfect tone for his work in word and image.
Jack Prelutsky gueststarred on the classic PBS animated television series Arthur in the episode I'm a Poet, which first aired May,, reciting a couple of his famous poems from The New Kid on the Block in his role as judge at a kids' poetry contest.
But I think what lifted Jack Prelutsky to rarified air among his poet contemporaries is the appealing mix of comedy and deeper meaning in his work.
One never knows which way his poems are going to turn until the last line, so there's a sense of unexpectedness to his verses.
Jack Prelutsky writes humor well, as effectively as Shel Silverstein at his best, but positioned amidst the laughs are islands of personal affirmation, literary substance that reinforces the rest of the book and allows it to stand taller.
I've also noticed that fewif anychildren's poets utilize vocabulary like Jack Prelutsky, He ransacks the lexicon for witty, applicable rhymes to keep his poems pithy and rhythmic, but the superadvanced terms usually define themselves easily by the context they're used in, a plus for his unique methodology of complex word integration.
The introduction of highlevel vocabulary is as painless as possible, and that means learning takes place while the laughs arrive in droves, No matter your age or education, The New Kid on the Block will enhance your grasp of the American language, and that's good for everyone.


"I spied my shadow slinking
up behind me in the night,
I issued it a challenge,
and we started in to fight.


I wrestled with that shadow,
but it wasn't any fun,
I tried my very hardest
all the same, my shadow won.
"

I Spied My Shadow Slinking, P,

The New Kid on the Block contains too many poems to discuss each individually, but several deserve special mention.
Jellyfish Stew is the composition Jack Prelutsky starts reading at the end of his Arthur episode, to a crowd of excited thirdgraders who can't get enough of his clever verses.
Clara Cleech is about juggling, so what's not to like If I were going to commit one poem in this anthology to memory, it would probably be Clara Cleech.
I Am Running in a Circle is the amusing misadventure of a boy caught in a revolving door, but captures the feeling of being stuck in any situation, going around and around in circles, helpless to get untracked.
An Unassuming Owl is one of the The New Kid on the Block's funniest offerings, a mixture of wordplay and goodnatured ribbing of grammatical sticklers, We find deeper substance in Ah! A Monster's Lot is Merry, a goopy swamp creature's raucous ode to the joys of antisocial living if it means we're allowed to be gross, unkempt, and play by our own rules without having to impress anyone.
The reader is left to decide for him or herself if it's better to have friends or live entirely as one pleases, I mustn't forget to praise Homework! Oh, Homework!, a cathartically expressive rant against the evils of mounds of unwanted homework being dumped in the laps of kids every day.
Who wants to go home after clocking seven or more hours at school and then put in a few more hours doing the same sort of assignments I think we all can empathize with the sentiment of Homework! Oh, Homework!

My Dog, He Is an Ugly Dog is a lovely composition concealed beneath the topsoil of silliness.
A boy runs down a litany of his dog's many faults, only to conclude the dog is the perfect pet for him, When we acknowledge the flaws in our friends and ourselves, we're free to love without unfair expectation, unconditionally, and that's the rich soil which grows relationships of value.
Yubbazubbies wow, what a title! is a heartsong to the sweet, scrumptious Yubbazubbies that run around everywhere, flavorful little fruits irresistible to the taste buds.
Yubbazubbies are a treat too tantalizing to turn down when they come your way, You can't blame a person for trying a few, right We're only human, In Gussie's Greasy Spoon, the narrator outlines every way the titular restaurant fails its customers with its invariably stomachturning food options.
Everything about the place is disgusting, . . so why does the narrator return for lunch every day I suppose our lack of judgment in indulging our own unseemly habits deserves no less ridicule, going back to sup on the same queasy fare day after day, settled into old, destructive habits and lacking momentum to escape the rut.
Gussie's Greasy Spoon leaves us with something to consider in that regard,

The Cherries' Garden Gala showcases some of the tightest, smartest rhymes in The New Kid on the Block, a cheerful rundown of the festivities when an assortment of fruits and vegetables in the mood to celebrate convene to dance the night away in toast to the harvest's success.
There are more coy puns in this poem than I have room to cite: "the Ginger seemed wellbred," "the Radishes grew hoarse", "the Grapes began to whine," "the Rhubarb got to fighting," "the Sage repeated maxims," and on and on with myriad punny delights.
The Cherries' Garden Gala might be the most fun you'll have in this book, An Alley Cat with One Life Left circles back to more substantive stanzas, as an alley cat lists the unfortunate ways he's squandered his first eight lives.
There's no leeway for a misstep now with only one life in reserve, but he isn't bitter about it, "I'm an alley cat with one life left, and glad that life is mine, " The duration of his final life is by no means guaranteed, but the alley cat will appreciate it, take care of it, and live it up while his heart still beats.
An Irritating Creature presents the ballad of a sketchy, unpleasant living thing that won't leave the narrator alone, He sends it farther away each time he ejects it from his home, desperate to be rid of the creature's unsavory companionship, but nothing does the trick.
"It appears I can't evict it, though I truly wish I could, it's entirely too tenaciousI suspect it's here for good, " Wow, does that ever describe some of the personal problems that plague us, issues we wish we could bring under control but instead seem to dictate to us.
Not every irritating creature can be packed up and stowed on a rocket destined for deep space, In

Today Is Very Boring, we have another poem recited by Jack Prelutsky during his appearance on Arthur, the hohum discourse of a boy who decries the dullness of his life even as onceinalifetime occurrences humorously pop up all around him.
If we're deadset on writing our life off as drab and uninteresting, how are we going to change our mindset when excitement knocks on the door It would be a pity not to realize how incredible the world around us every day is simply because we're conditioned to ignore its wonders, but we're all guilty of that to some degree.
We can take a vital cue from Today Is Very Boring and apply it to our lives forthwith,

"Oh, Teddy Bear, dear Teddy,
though you're gone these many years,
I recall with deep affection
how I nibbled on your ears,
I can hardly keep from smiling,
and my heart beats fast and glows,
when I think about the morning
that I twisted off your nose.


Teddy Bear, you didn't whimper,
Teddy Bear, you didn't pout,
when I reached in with my fingers
and I tore your tummy out,
and you didn't even mumble
or emit the faintest cries,
when I pulled your little paws off,
when I bit your button eyes.


Yes, you sat beside me calmly,
and you didn't once protest,
when I ripped apart the stuffing
that was packed inside your chest,
and you didn't seem to notice
when I yanked out all your hair
it's been ages since I've seen you,
but I miss you, Teddy Bear.
"

Oh, Teddy Bear, PP,

Oh, Teddy Bear is, to me, the best poem in The New Kid on the Block, the main reason I have to round my twoandahalf star rating up, if not consider giving this book the full three.
The sentiments of Oh, Teddy Bear are so simple, even comically framed, but they tug at the heartstrings like nothing else in this collection.
When I think back to The New Kid on the Block, Oh, Teddy Bear is the poem I'll remember and get tears in my eyes at the thought of.
Ballad of a Boneless Chicken relates the experiences of a chicken born without a skeleton, a chicken who wishes she could get important things done in life, but lacks the internal calcified system to do anything about it.
"I have feathers fine and fluffy, I have lovely little wings, but I lack the superstructure to support these splendid things, " How many times have we felt like the boneless chicken, filled with grand dreams of conquest and accomplishment but without the selfdiscipline or courage to make the sacrifices necessary to fulfill those dreams I can't imagine a more helpless feeling than crawling around for a lifetime as a boneless chicken, unable to pursue any worthy goal to completion because one can't control one's impulses.
My Sister Is a Sissy herds the anthology from veiled philosophical musing back to pure fun, with the third Jack Prelutsky poem included in his Arthur episode.
It wasn't animated Jack Prelutsky who read this one, but Arthur the Aardvark, himself, opening the show with this silly soliloquy about a boy whose sister is creeped out by practically everything under the sun.
It must have been rewarding for one legacy children's author Prelutsky to have his work recited by the most famous character of another Marc Brown on television.


Jack Prelutsky isn't Shel Silverstein, but he's not too far behind, What I love about The New Kid on the Block is the feeling that the zany people populating its poems could all live on the same city block, leading their comedically satisfying lives mostly behind closed doors so they aren't aware of the richness of humor in every house they pass by so close to home.
That infuses the book with a subtle warmth, and I appreciate it, Artist James Stevenson's résumé can't compete with the manifold triumphs of Arnold Lobel's writing and illustrating career, but Stevenson is up to the task of doing Jack Prelutsky's poetry justice in this book, just as Lobel did in his own lauded collaborations with Mr.
Prelutsky. I do adore The New Kid on the Block, and recommend it for readers ready to be introduced to the pleasures of Prelutsky poetry.
You don't want to miss this one, .