Douglas Florian's Beast Feast

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglas. 1994. Beast feast. Orlando, FL: Voyager Books. ISBN 0152017372

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Douglas Florian’s collection of creature poems, Beast Feast, beautifully describes animals great and small, from caterpillars to camels, scattered throughout nature. Varied in length, each poem provides factual information laced with Florian’s signature spunk.

The lively rhythm of the poems encourages readers to chant the verses aloud over and over again. AABB or ABAB rhyme schemes assist with the musicality of the poems. Florian utilizes sound devices such as this alliteration found in “The Bat” (p.38): “All night this mobile mammal mugs / A myriad of flying bugs.” While the terms accurately describe the bat, the sound imagery makes the poem more enjoyable!

While these poems are designed as read-alouds, Florian manipulates the font size, letter orientation, and spacing of the printed text to create a bit of uniqueness in several poems. For example, when describing the grasshopper’s eyes, the word “oversized” (p. 30), is typed in larger font for added emphasis. Also, the word “spew” (p.22) in “The Whale” varies the alignment of letters to represent the action described. Those small extra features combined form poems that serve dual purposes of entertaining and educating the reader.

Most young readers enjoy animal tales. Beast Feast is no different! If the peppy poems alone do not draw in readers, Florian’s watercolor paintings will capture their browsing eyes. These interesting creature descriptions cover a multitude of animals—from the common ant to an unusual bird called a kiwi. Poems about both the well-known and unfamiliar animals will enrich the reader’s knowledge of the animal kingdom.

Florian uses language in innovative ways, including clever comparisons: in “The Lobster”, the author compares the red crustacean to “an underwater / Mobster” (p.14).  He also changes up the spelling of words in “The Rhea” (p.18) to play on the root of the words “really” (“rheally”) and rearranged (“rhearranged”). Simple twists like these set Florian’s poems apart from dull expository texts.

Florian’s quality poetry includes humorous moments placed lyrically beside factual information. Various points of view help readers examine the creatures in a different light, maybe even clearing up misconceptions. “The Pigeon” (p.25) focuses on positive aspects of what is thought to be an annoying bird. “The Kiwi” (p.46) describes the lesser-known flightless bird and questions its classification as a bird based on its inherited traits. These examples and others call into question what readers already know about the subjects as well as reinforce prior knowledge.

The poems are ordered randomly although a table of contents allows for easy access. Each page layout is devoted to one poem with accompanying watercolor illustration. Florian’s witty paintings complement the playful nature of the poems.

After introducing such intriguing animal poetry, be prepared with additional animal information for those inquisitive readers who need to know more! Florian’s verses will surely ignite curiosity in the minds of the readers.

POETRY SPOTLIGHT

“The Sloth”

Up in a tree

The shaggy sloth

Is hanging by its claws.

It doesn’t like to move at all.

It only likes to

p   a   u   s   e.

Introduce “The Sloth” by displaying Florian’s painting and the poem on a document projector. Read the poem aloud to students in a natural voice. Then repeat the poem varying your tone by drawing out the last line.

Direct student’s attention to the white space the author includes between the letters. Discuss how the author indicates the proper way to read the poem with the use of white space rather than giving direct instruction.

Give students time to practice reading “The Sloth” aloud. Come together for a choral reading, emphasizing (and even dramatizing) “pause” in line 6.

As a way to incorporate the poems in Beast Feast with a science study of animals, behavioral characteristics, or inherited traits, students will create two-sided bookmarks highlighting one animal featured in the collection. One side will showcase the Florian poem (accompanied with a brief citation) and an original watercolor painting of the animal. The back side will include informative facts about the animal garnered from further research.

Laminate and display the watercolor bookmarks in the library near the circulation desk. (Children may even wish to distribute their bookmarks to library users.)