Something Big Has Been Here

by Jack Prelutsky Narrated by Jack Prelutsky

Overview

The long-awaited companion to the bestselling*The New Kid on the Block. ""A wealth of funny new verse from a favorite poet. Prelutsky's comic muse is at its best here. Another winner.""-Kirkus Reviews. ""Prelutsky has done it again.""-School Library Journal

Something big is right here!

It is this book of wonderful, funny new poems by beloved children's poet Jack Prelutsky. If you've read*The New Kid on the Block,*you have some idea of the treat ahead. And if you haven't, all you have to do is start reading!

Here are four vain and ancient tortoises, a rat of culture, Super Samson Simpson, a meat loaf that defies an ax, five flying hotdogs-and many, many more people, animals, and things that are destined to become part of the lives of everyone who loves to laugh.

Say them, chant them, learn them by heart, or just read them-Jack Prelutsky's poems are incomparable.

Editorial Reviews

Horn Book

An unerring choice of subjects close to the hearts of children, a precise selection of the perfect word, and a ready humor are indisputably at his command.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

If this anthology of light verse and black-and-white drawings from Prelutsky and Stevenson were a movie, it would be titled The New Kid on the Block Part II. In format, subject matter and tone, fans of the earlier volumes will rejoice in finding more of the same. These are not poems to savor for their metaphoric language or depth of thought, but are instead frivolous, rib-tickling verses about the ``Ghost Who's Lost His Boo,'' about ``Rhododendra Rosenbloom'' who buys perfume from a ``ten scent store,'' or about the ``Fearless Flying Hotdogs'' who are ``mustered in formation / to climb, to dip, to dive.'' Prelutsky's comic monologues focus on such topics as ``I am Tired of Being Little'' or ``I'm Sorry! for being a brat,'' or the irresistible declaration of love, ``Warteena Weere Just Bit My Ear.'' From Twickles and Moodles to the making of Grasshopper Gumbo, the emphasis is on the preposterous. Stevenson's waggish drawings provide half the fun in this comic collection that skips lightly on the mind and tongue. Ages 5-up. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

From the intriguing title poem to the final verse, ``We're Fearless Flying Hotdogs,'' Prelutsky has done it again with childwise sparkling wit. Zaniness is in abundant supply with verses about a turkey that shot out of the oven (it was stuffed with unpopped popcorn); Denson Dumm, who planted lightbulbs in his hair (and thereafter was always bright); and the child who wants a pet porcupine. But also present in delightful numbers are serious subjects of importance to children, wrapped in silliness: ``I Am Tired of Being Little,'' ``Don't Yell at Me!,'' and ``I Should Have Stayed in Bed Today.'' Prelutsky's language is neither simple nor sappy, but rich with challenging words such as ``disputatious'' and ``alacrity,'' whose meanings are clear in context. The poems are short and snappy (many are only one or two stanzas), and Stevenson's accompanying uncomplicated and comical drawings give the book an uncluttered appeal. A winner for individual or group reading. --Lee Bock Pulaski, Brown County Pub . Libraries, Green Bay, WI

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173670403
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/10/2007
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Read an Excerpt

We're Four Ferocious Tigers

We're four ferocious tigers,
at least, that's what we seem,
our claws are at the ready,
our sharp incisors gleam,
we're quite intimidating,
our stare will make you blink,
our roar will make you shiver,
at least, that's what we think.

We're four ferocious tigers,
at least, that's what we hear,
our ominous demeanor
will chill your atmosphere,
and yet you need not fear us,
don't scream and run away,
we only eat spaghetti,
at least, that's what we say.

---

My Neighbor's Dog Is Purple

My neighbor's dog is purple,
its eyes are large and green,
its tail is almost endless,
the longest I have seen.

My neighbor's dog is quiet,
it does not bark one bit,
but when my neighbor's dog is near,
I feel afraid of it.

My neighbor's dog looks nasty,
it has a wicked smile. . . .
before my neighbor painted it,
it was a crocodile.

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