Mammalabilia

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Witty words with whimsical illustrations.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there is nothing of concern in this book of humorous poems with inventive paintings.


What's the story?

Twenty-one extraordinary poems about twenty-one extraordinary creatures! Witty words are whimsically accompanied by childlike illustrations of original mammals: an oddly shaped tapir, a sneaker-wearing rhebok, a bactrian camel donning a dapper hat. The spiraling word format reinforces the energy of the language.


Is it any good?

 

Douglas Florian's paintings -- done on primed brown paper bags -- energize the mammals, and his words cleverly describe their idiosyncrasies. The hippo who "eats and eats and eats and eats" has a table and a place setting inside his mouth. With the text "Madagascar leaping lemurs breeze through trees without breaking femurs," three gleeful primates fly off branches as crutches float around them.

For one 5-year-old reader, MAMMALIBILIA was a good introduction to animals he hadn't heard of before, and the silly verses encouraged him to remember some of the animals' characteristics, such as the lynx's sought-after coat and the tapir's hefty head. Florian presents wonderful examples of how cool words can be.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about the fun rhymes. Which lines and poems do you enjoy most? Parents can help children identify different elements in the structure of the poems and encourage kids to write their own animal-inspired poetry.


This review was written by Susan Fitzgerald

There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title below.


This review was written by Susan Fitzgerald
Author:Douglas Florian
Illustrator:Douglas Florian
Book type:Non-Fiction
Genre:Poetry
Publisher:Harcourt Brace
Publication date:January 1, 2000
Number of pages:48
Paperback price:$7.00
Publisher's recommended age(s):4 - 7

This review was written by Susan Fitzgerald
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Register now to save reviews and advice articles to your personal lists!


About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you read Mammalabilia?


Already read it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it