Book talk: Stardines Swim High Across the Sky: And Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky

You know how scientists keep finding new species? The poet Jack Prelutsky has found new species too – hybrid imaginary creatures who act crazy and may even honk at you while getting stuck to trees. 

My personal favorites are the slobsters. Trust me, do not take one of them to a restaurant, because you’ll regret it: “Slobsters are slovenly, / slobsters are crude, / slobsters love mashing / And smushing their food.” Their utter lack of manners will really embarrass you, unless you yourself have no manners at all, and then you’re probably a slobster yourself.

The sobcats can be just as tough as the slobsters to hang out with, because the sobcats just sit around weeping and weeping for no reason whatsoever. “That miserable sobcat’s / been moaning for years, / Sitting alone, / Weeping copious tears.” They just like being miserable. No, I don’t understand it either. I do like the blankets they’re hiding under, though. Maybe it’s comfy under there.

You know who has an even tougher time of it than the sobcats? The chormorants! They look like these real birds – called cormorants – but because they just do chores all day, day after day, -- they’re called chormorants. These birds are serious and never joke around. I just wish they’d clean my house, because I live with some slobsters.

Stardines will also introduce you to creatures such as the tattlesnake, the gloose, and the wedgehogs. Watch out for the panteaters, too.

Stardines Swim High Across the Sky: And Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Carin Berger. Unpaged. Greenwillow Books, 2012. Booktalk to grades 2-6.