"Arctic
WALRUS
Small of eye and long of tusk.
aggressive, noisy, big and brusque,
the walrus is a pinniped.
(That means it has flippers.)
He's often in a social mood.
His whiskers help him find his food
and also ornament his head.
(The tusks are used as grippers.)
Once again, I am in absolute awe of David Elliott's uncanny ability to come up with the 'exactly right' words to describe the animals here presented. In this eighth book in the Candlewick Poetry Series, he turns to the wildlife at both north and south poles. As he has done in previous entries to this extraordinary group of books, the choices he makes for subject and wordplay will engage and astonish readers.
There are 15 splendidly described creatures beginning with the dedicated Emperor Penguin in the Antarctic and ending with the majestic beauty of the Polar Bear in the Arctic. Through the course of the poems from Antarctic to Arctic/Antarctic to Arctic, Mr. Elliott allows readers a clear look, mostly familiar and only occasionally not so, at some of the many animals found at the Earth's poles.
Using 'printmaking ink, gouache, crayon, and digital and collage techniques', Ellen Rooney provides inviting scenes in natural settings that allow young readers a close look at each of the animals they know and a few they may not yet have encountered. They are both inviting and realistic.
The author completes this newest entry to the series with nature notes for each of the creatures included here.
"NARWHAL
In the Middle Ages, narwhals' spiraled ivory tusks were sold to European royalty as horns of the mythical unicorn. Hundreds of years later, that tusk remains a mystery; we still don't understand its purpose. What we do know is that it's actually a tooth that grows through the narwhal's upper lip. Ouch!"
A visit to David Elliott's webpage reveals that there will be an additional two books written to complete this incredible series. Bravo!
No comments:
Post a Comment