POETRY - INSECTLOPEDIA

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 1998. INSECTLOPEDIA. New York: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152013067

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Definitely not your typical story book, this is a book that is made up of 21 different concrete poems. Each poem is about a different type of insect.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
INSECTLOPEDIA is a topical collection of 21 poems about insects. The poems range from caterpillars, dragonflies, crickets, locusts, etc. Douglas Floriam dedicates a two page spread to each insect with the poem being on one side, and the illustration on the opposite page. The chosen layout allows for large type and plenty of white space, and allows for the reader to appreciate the playfulness of the poems. The poems incorporate humor, word play, and a few even feature concrete poetry. All readers will enjoy the playfulness where the words become the hump of the inchworm, or the words create the roundness of the whirligig beetle.

The washed out watercolor paintings create an entire page of their chosen insect. The color pallet chosen sticks to earth tones and each are framed out with a border. The insects are easily identifiable as they are painted within their natural environment, but still hold onto the playfulness of their poem. Examples of this are where the crickets are holding their fiddle, or the water bug is holding a card.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL starred review: “Florian offers short, inventive poems that create playful images of animals.……..The design adds to the overall appeal.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY review: “The result is downright stunning.”
KIRKUS review: “The watercolor illustrations, abstract and stylized, achieve a comic affect by incorporating collage elements reminiscent of an entomologist’s field notes.”

5. CONNECTIONS
* Children can easily be invited to draw/create their own concrete poem after choosing an animal to portray or illustrate. Excellent introduction to a thematic unit about insects, or could be used for supplementing the science curriculum.

Other books of concrete poetry:
*Janeczko, Paul. A POKE IN THE I. ISBN 9780763623760
*Loewen, Nancy. WORDS, WIT, AND WONDER: WRITING YOUR OWN POEM. ISBN 9781404853447