Florian, Douglas. Laugh-eteria: Poems and Drawings.
San Diego, CA: Harcourt Press, 1999. ISBN: 978-0-15-202084-2.
SUMMARY
Any topic is
fair game for fun in Douglas Florian's Laugh-eteria.
Think school is serious? Read a few poems about teachers, subjects, substitute
teachers, or the student who always causes problems, and you will begin to see
the funny side of school life! Afraid of monsters or ghosts? You won't be after
reading poems that show how ridiculous they can be! Each and every poem is sure
to be a grin-winner, a laugh-blaster, and a chuckle-snorter from anyone who
appreciates poking a little fun into everything and anything!
ANALYSIS
Douglas
Florian's flare for finding fun in everything reveals itself in Laugh-eteria. He shows young readers
that poetry doesn't have to be a serious, deep-thinking form of writing. Poetry can offer a welcomed comical
relief from the serious side of life, and Florian's gifts of a wonderful sense
of humor and his skill for writing poetry create the perfect balance for a book
of hilarious poetry.
Florian's
ability to play with words so they fit just right into his poetry can be found
throughout the book. His poem, "Good Humor" shows this: "The
poems in this book/Are meant to be humorous./If they are not,/Please laugh just
to humor us." He writes quick, short, catchy lines with words that are simple
enough to remember and to repeat aloud. "Car Rot" is another example
of a simple poem that plays with words that can easily be remembered:
"Here lies my car/Now deceased./May its poor soul/Rust in peace." While the book is filled with similar short and
rhythmic poems, to include limericks, every now and then Florian will toss in a
longer poem for good measure, but his mastery of word play continues to bring
out the humor:
Good Conduct
Matthew made his
teacher mad.
Teacher called
his conduct bad.
Bratty Matty was
aloof -
Climbed from the
classroom to the roof.
Where he threw
his socks and shoes
Onto people to
amuse,
Till a passing
lightning bolt
Shot through
Matthew with a jolt,
Which at least
proved Teacher wrong:
Mathew's conduct
WAS quite strong.
The
arrangement of the poetry, length of the poems, and the simple black and white
illustrations throughout the book will appease the shorter attention spans of
young children. The poems are not arranged by topics, but instead the topics
can skip about. One set of pages can have poems about weather, and the next two
pages can feature poems about an "Open Mind" or a "Brain
Drain." Poems about ogres and monsters are scattered throughout the book
in the most unusual places. Florian thoughtfully includes an Index of First Lines
to help readers easily find poems that they have read and would like to read
again. Laugh-eteria is a classic book of poetry that's sure to entertain young readers for years to come.
AWARDS
Parent's
Choice Award, 1999: Silver Story Books, United States
SUGGESTED
ACTIVITY
A fun poem that is set up to be read aloud
by two readers is "Ogre Argument." Divide your class into two groups.
Have one group read the poetry lines from the first column, and the other group
read the lines from the second column. Make sure they read using ogre voices!
We're meaner.
We're
greener.
Our skins have scales.
We
swallow nails.
We've lots of warts.
We're
very bad sports.
We drip with drool.
We
lose our cool.
We're more horrific.
We're
unscientific.
We're mostly malevolent.
We're
largely irrelevant.
We're bellicose.
We're
gross up close.
Our heads are revolting.
Our
backsides are molting.
We cling, we clutch.
Let's
keep in touch.
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