Building Beavers Book

Summary/A Thoughtful Review:
In this collection of mammal poems, Douglas Florian uses creative words, poetic features, and award-winning illustrations to describe twenty-one of the most amazing mammals living on Earth today. His short poems (5-10 lines each) include alliteration, shape (the camel's humps or the porcupine's spikes), and descriptive words used to personify the specific animal (ie: The Coyote: "I prowl, I growl, my howl is throaty. I love a vowel for I am coyoooote."), and use rhyme, repetition, and rhythm that creates a playful feeling between the pages. His form also encourages readers to truly THINK, activating prior knowledge and drawing conclusions along the way. I have never seen a Rhebok before, however Florian's poem brought a smile to my face:

The Rhebok
The rhebok's main
Claim to fame.
Is its name.

Although some of the vocabulary used in this text (i.e. bray, retreats, slumber) is a bit more advanced than primary level, I believe with the support in the classroom through teacher and peers, early readers would LOVE this text! Florian illustrations are simplistic and somewhat child-like, however, bring comfort understanding to the text.