A PIZZA THE SIZE OF THE SUN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Prelutsky, Jack. 1996. A PIZZA THE SIZE OF THE SUN. Ill. By James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0688132367 Reading level: Ages 4-8

PLOT SUMMARY

Although he is more famous with ‘THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK’, this one is also welcomed by fans of Jack. The book title is the first poem of this book. Jack Prelutsky employees various themes for his poems. Most of them are funny and witty; News Brief: “So he radioed a tow truck and had every pigeon towed”; I Did a Nutty Somersault: “When you try out your roller blades, don’t do it on the ice”; Hurry Grandma Hurry: “I’m climbing up a latter, I am dangling by my knees. …Grandma take a closer look-whatever made you faint?” ; and I Got out of Bed: “the head on my shoulders had turned upside-down…the hair on my head had the look of a beard…that water would fill my unfortunate nose” Sometimes it is embarrassing and grotesque; Eyeballs for Sale! : “Fresh eyeballs for sale! Delicious, nutritious, not moldy or stale”; My Fish Was Small: “My fish no more will splash and splish. My fish I gone…I flush my fish”; and Rat for Lunch: “Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch! Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!” He also uses ample amount of rhythm and rhymes; I often repeat repeat myself: “I don’t I don’t know why know why…I often repeat repeat myself”; Frenetica Fluntz: “I eat as I drink and I drink as I shout and I shout as I think and I think as I draw and I draw as I walk and I walk as I read…”; and Dixxer’s Excellent Elixir: “Dexter Dixxer mixed elixir….only nineteen ninety-nine!”. Most of all, there are something that makes his poem unique and attractive to children; I AM YOUR MIRROR IMAGE, Backwards Forwards Silly Rhyme and Reverso Is Name My (backwards and mirror writing); I’m All Mixed Up (mixed use with a capital and small letters); Zeke McPeake (small characters); and A triangular tale and I Was Walking in a Circle (concrete poems).

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

It is a single poet collection. Because it deals with various themes and forms of poems, it can be recommended for those people who don’t like poems. Especially, children may enjoy his poems with abundant of funny expressions, word sounds and word play, etc.
These are very important for children at the stage of developing language skills. James Stevenson’s black ink sketches are witty, such as ‘I am usually a speedy horse’ has an illustration which the rider place his horse on his shoulder. And it makes a reader laugh cheerfully. It provides ‘index to titles’ and ‘index to first lines.’

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Horn Book Guide (March 1, 1997)
“Fiction: NF Age: K-3 Prelutsky and Stevenson have again produced an appealing collection of short poetry. Spirited line and wash drawings effectively convey the tone of the jaunty, usually funny, often silly, sometimes gross, and always childlike poems. Poems in varied typeface and placement in an open format combine with the economical line of well-placed sketches to create a fast-paced collection that's loads of fun.”

School Library Journal (September 1, 1996)
“K-Gr 6?Yet another masterful collection of poems by the prolific Prelutsky, filled with zany people, improbable creatures, and rhythm and rhyme galore, all combining to celebrate the unusual, the mundane, and the slightly gruesome ("Eyeballs for sale!/Fresh eyeballs for sale!/Delicious, nutritious,/Not moldy or stale.").”

CONNECTIONS

Activity
*Provide children a subject and let them write something accross their minds with the word, and make some sentences.
*Let children discuss which words are new or interesting to them.

Other notable books of Jack Prelutsky
*Prelutsky, Jack. The new kid on the block. Illustrations by James Stevenson ISBN: 0688022715
*Prelutsky, Jack. Something big has been here. Illustrations by James Stevenson ISBN: 0688064345

Useful website
*Poetry writing with Jack Prelutsky http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/jack_home.htm