A hippopotamusn't and other animal verses by J. Patrick Lewis

by J. Patrick Lewis

A celebration of all the animals of the animal kingdom--owls, eels, woodpeckers, elephants, slugs, and others--captures the essence of each creature

Genres: Poetry, Science

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate. He has written more than seventy children's books, including Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses. J. Patrick Lewis lives in Ohio.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

“ A Hippopotamusn’t” is collection of some funny poems that as you might infer from the title often times include wordplay. The theme of these poems is animal. These poems not only feature animals sometime they help educate children about animas. In the poem “How to Tell a Camel” the poem’s subject gives a bit of advice on how to tell the two camels, Dromedary and Bactrain, apart. My favorite poem from this collection is “Tom Tigercat” because its use of wordplay follows the theme of using wild cats as puns. An example of this is when in the poem it is stated “He wouldn’t think of lion,” switching the word “lying” with the name of a type of wild cat “lion”. This collection of poetry is a good way to introduce children to devise such as puns in literature and may be inform them a little bit about certain animals.

[Etta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Hippopotamusn't is a book that includes many poems about all different animals. Through reading this book, students are able to learn about many animals in the animal kingdom. The book includes poems about owls, eels, woodpeckers, elephants, slugs, and other creatures. This book is a wonderful book to have in your classroom because it allows kids to learn about new animals and how they live through the vivid illustrations and detail!

[Jaime Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of poetry about animals. Some of the main character, or animals, are a hummingbird, a cat, a snake, a turtle, etc. I would categorize this book in the age group of primary elementary. It's a good book for children who are either learning to read or are just starting to read on their own. The kids will be interested in the animals and love all the rhymes and pictures. I would recommend this book of poetry, especially to children because they would love all the rhyming. I enjoyed most of the stories in this book and I loved the pictures that went along with them. Poetry is a good place to start when just learning to read.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! My 6 year old couldn't stop reading her favorite poems. Every family member had a favorite poem or two. Powerful and silly word play that is sure to widen your little one's vocabulary and imagination. This was a delightfully entertaining foray into the world of poetry and a definite must.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute! This book contains many examples of poetry styles and each one is about a different animal.

[Victoria Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of poems is great for your animal lovers. It could be a great way to get students interested in poetry. The poems are fun and entertaining.

[Douglas Florian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps my favorite J. Patrick Lewis book. A great variety of forms and fun!

[The Brothers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tries to be Ogden Nash, but isn't. Some of the poems were just hard to read and hard to understand.

The illustrations ran from whimsical to bland.

[Haley Hoenke · Rating 2 out of 5]

#poetry

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book of poems.

[Darin Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of various forms of poetry about animals. A great introduction to literary devices, but in a very non-threatening way. My favorite, The Noise in the Mountains, talks, of course about the yak, a great play on words.

4 stars for this solid collection of funny, witty, and even informative poems about animals.