Poetry in the Science Class: Mammalabilia

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglas. 2000. Mammalabilia. Orlando, FL: Harcourt. ISBN 9780152050245

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Douglas Florian presents 21 witty poems about mammals in Mammalabilia. Each poem offers facts about physical appearances, instincts, or learned behaviors of the spotlighted animal. The predictable rhyme and flowing rhythm will have readers begging for encores. 

These brief yet exciting poems lend themselves to be read aloud in a variety of formats: single voice, small groups in unison, four voices dividing up the lines, etc. Readers will appreciate even the shape of the poems in the book. For example, “The Porcupine” (p.44) is shaped like the creature’s quills. “The Bactrian Camel” (p.8) resembles camel humps.

The look and the sound of Florian’s mammal verses appeal to readers in part because of their brevity as well as their clever play on words. Animals are a high-interest topic for children. These light, fun verses will inform readers as well as entertain. 

Florian writes about some familiar mammals, but more impressively, he introduces readers to less well-known and unusual mammals. Readers will learn about the lynx, the tapir, the rhebok, the ibex, and many more fascinating mammals! Rather than bogging readers down with overwhelming facts, Florian provides factual information in a creative way that will encourage readers to create their own original poems about a favorite species.

Mammalabilia presents readers with Florian’s signature rhyme and pun-filled poems. As readers read each poem, they will feel at home with the distinctive style; this reader did.

Florian provides readers with features that allow easy access to single poems. The pages are numbered, and a table of contents is located in the front of the book. The poems are not arranged alphabetically, by size, or habitat. Thus, the table of contents is the most efficient way to locate a single desired poem.

The illustrations that accompany each poem are original paintings by Florian himself. At the end of the book, he describes the medium used: gouache on primed brown paper bags. The playful paintings nicely complement the spirited poems. Instead of overshadowing the verses, the paintings extend readers’ understanding of each mammal. 

POETRY SPOTLIGHT

Mammalabilia would be an ideal text to introduce or reinforce a study of inherited traits in a science class.

“The Zebras” (p.18)

How many zebras

Do you see?

            I see two zebras.

I see three.

            I see three, too.

I see four.

            I see four, too.

I see more!

To introduce the poem, display the illustration using a projector. Use two voices to read the poem aloud: the lead voice beginning and the second voice reading the indented lines.

Ask readers how many zebras they see in the illustration? Allow a couple volunteers to point to the zebras they see. Discuss how the zebras use their stripes as camouflage in the savannah. 

As a follow up activity, students will use watercolors to create a scene in nature showing how other animals use their physical characteristics to blend in with their environment. Examples include the praying mantis, chameleons, leopards, polar bears, turtles, snow owls, vine snakes, and lizards. Display the paintings with the title caption, “Can You See Me Now?” or "Hide and Seek."  

Verse Novel: What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sones, Sonya. 2007. What my girlfriend doesn’t know. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780689876035

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Sonya Sones’ sequel to What My Mother Doesn’t Know details events in the relationship between normal ninth-grader Sophie Stein and butt-of-all-jokes Robin Murphy. Written from the male perspective, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know gives readers insights into the mind of a fourteen year old boy—insecurities, things that anger him, conversations with classmates, parents, and of course, his beloved Sophie. All in verse.

Sones uses the poem titles to continue the flow from one poem to the next—making the title equally as important as the stanzas. Without taking the space to fill in every single detail in the plot, readers are expected to infer about the “in between” events.

Most of the poems are written in free verse; however Sones does add special elements to some of the poems. “I Haven’t Shaved for a Week” is one of the rare poems with a rhyme scheme. Being immersed in free verse through most of the book, small chunks of rhyme seem rather refreshing and light—even when the subject matter can get rather deep.

A few shape poems appear scattered throughout the book: “Is My Nose Growing?” is shaped like the silhouette of a head with a Pinocchio-style nose. “I Do Not Have a One Track Mind” is written to resemble breasts. My personal favorite of the shape poems, “I Survived Dinner with My Prying Parents”, is shaped like an arrow and decreases in font size as the poem progresses.

Sones varies font sizes throughout the book to reflect emotion. “Such a What?!” repeats the line “No” with increasing font size. The reader quickly sense’s Robin’s emotion and can sympathize with him.

These special elements give readers a break from the usual, flowing, narrative free verse. Such features prevent readers from becoming bored with the book in addition to appreciating the clever ways other poetry forms can be incorporated into a verse novel.

The mostly free verse work will appeal to readers who do not want to get hung up on rhyme and meter or all the “building up” details found in prose. The poems are a quick read packed with juicy information about Robin and Sophie’s relationship. The reader will share in Robin’s emotions as he describes all he must go through as he struggles through high school.

Typical high school students can relate to Robin’s feelings in some form or fashion. He’s the low man at school but the big shot in his Harvard art class. He loves his girlfriend, but he hates how their being together ruins Sophie’s relations with her peers. Readers will enjoy seeing Robin and Sophie triumph as classmates befriend the pair. Robin’s vengeance on jock/bully Dylan will leave readers with a sense of victory.

Simple to understand, these lines are carefully crafted to present the particulars while being concise. As a reader, I am amazed at how much information is given to me through so few words. As mentioned before, the reader is left to make inferences in some instances. This saves the poet space as well as expanding the reader’s thinking. The ending of the book is a perfect example. Robin grabs Sophie’s hand, and Sophie does not yank it away. The reader can easily infer that the couple will reconcile.

Each poem—as varied as they are—exhibits a consistence in quality. From the shortest poem to the longer ones, Sones does not stray from the intent of the book. She presents events in chronological order with poem titles that serve as laces to string together the entire book. Readers who may be familiar with her other works will not be disappointed with What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know.

POETRY SPOTLIGHT

“A Piece of Advice from Me to Me”

Better brace yourself,

loser.

Because you

are about to be dumped.

Big time.

To introduce the poem, write the poem title in large letters on chart paper. Ask students to write what topics they give or get advice about (either from themselves or others). Discuss why they feel they need advice about these topics. Tell them that you are about to introduce a book written from the perspective of a teenage boy who could use some advice.

Before reading the poem, and without giving away too much information, get into character: teenage boy who does not fit in at school. Maybe even stand in front of a mirror. Read the poem aloud into the mirror. Do some play-acting! Offer to allow other readers to read the poem as well, in character.

Students will write a note to Robin as if they were passing a note to him in class. Without writing too much, students will offer some advice to improve Robin’s perspective on the situation. When they finish, students will fold up their note and pass it to another student. Each student will read then respond as Robin (based on what they know about him from the poem and play-acting) to the advice before passing it back to the original owner to read.