Module 14: Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems

Book cover image:

Book Summary: In this amusing book of poetry, Jack Prelutsky creates a new set of animals simply by changing one letter, such as changing sardines to stardines. Some of the animals are given different personality traits, such as jollyfish, who are always happy, and others are given a physical change, such as the fountain lion, who has a fountain on top of his head. The poems are wonderful to read aloud and offer an interesting reading experience that is sure to make kids laugh.

APA Reference of the book: Prelutsky, J. (2012). Stardines fly high across the sky and other poems. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Impressions: When I first read the title of this book, I missed the minor change to the word sardines and was surprised when I saw the cover covered with what were clearly stardines. Once I realized the play on words, however, I was intrigued and read further. The poems have a natural rhythm that makes them fun to read and I greatly enjoyed all the puns. I was also surprised at some of the great vocabulary words used in the poems such as calling slobsters slovenly, describing a magpipe's voice as a "nasal, cacophonic monotone," or describing jollyfish as "ebullient blobs of mirth." Each of these includes high level vocabulary words that have abundant context clues to help students get their meaning, which is a helpful feature. This is an example of my favorite kind of children's poem, fun, silly, but still illustrating different concepts associated with poetry, such as rhyme.

Professional Review: "In a similar vein to his Scranimals (2002), Prelutsky presents hybrid creatures with attributes produced by altering or adding a single letter in their names: "The gloose may be the weirdest bird/ That ever took to wing./ It has an odd propensity/ To stick to anything." A sobcat "spends its time crying/ Continuously," while "Jollyfish are radiant/ Ebullient blobs of mirth." Prelutsky's fake-pompous verse is as clever as ever, and Berger's artwork is its visual equivalent. She creates spectacular three-dimensional paper-craft boxes and collages in the manner of Joseph Cornell, labeling the wooden frames with old-fashioned, typewritten stickers. The glooses' tiny feathers are cut carefully from paper, while magpipes are assembled from engraved images of plucked poultry and brass piping; streamers of paper emblazoned with musical notes curl from the pipes-a witty representation of sound. The poems are typewritten on scraps of paper and mounted with butterfly pins. The whole has the feel of a vintage science project by the weirdest (and most imaginative) kid in class. The zoology may be suspect, but the laughs are guaranteed. Ages 4-8."

[Review of Stardines fly high across the sky and other poems by Jack Prelutsky]. (2012). Publisher's Weekly, 259(52), p. 54. Retrieved from: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/home/index.html

Library uses: This book could be used to discuss with students the concept of play on words and show them how words can be combined to make new meanings. It could also be used in a display of poetry books in general or about animal poetry in particular.