Insectlopedia: Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglas. 1998. Insectlopedia. Ill. by Douglas Florian. San Diego: Harcourt Brace and Company. ISBN 0152013067

ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION
Published poet, Douglas Florian, captures the essence of an encyclopedia with twenty one poems about well known children’s insects. From fighting army ants to evil weevils he writes about insects, their names and occupations. Each insect is listed in the helpful table of contents and given its own two page spread in this thin, over-sized book. The poet's background information is provided on the back cover of the book jacket along with a fun watercolor likeness of the author/illustrator as an insect complete with antennae and proboscis (insect mouth tube).

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is a collection of poetry and paintings done by Douglas Florian himself. The poems are universal, short, one page and easy to read. Anthropomorphism is apparent in the poetry and illustrations which adds to the appeal to young children. Font and format add to the appeal of the poetry. In the poem titled, “The Inchworm”, the three lines of the poem bend to form the likeness of an inchworm moving forward. And in the poem about whirligig beetles the poem is printed and read clockwise. Line breaks are apparent in his poems to signal meaning, rhythm, sound and as a substitute for punctuation. Puns are also highlighted in his poems as bold text as in the poem titled, “The Praying Mantis”, Upon a twig / I sit and pray / For something big / To wend my way: / A caterpillar, / Moth, / Or bee – / I swallow them / Religously. Florian's watercolor and collage paintings add extra interest and make this collection a visually appealing picture book for all ages. The walking stick on page 27 is so masterfully camouflaged that a red arrow is used as an aid in finding him on the page.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Starred Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “"The silly, imaginative verses about whirligig beetles and waterbugs (almost) match the exquisite pictures in playfulness and wit. The result is downright stunning."

Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “… Florian offers 21 short, inventive poems and paintings that create playful images of animals. Here, the subjects are arthropods such as the mayfly, praying mantis, hornet, black widow spider, and weevils. The verse form is as varied as the creatures presented.”

AWARDS

American Library Association Notable Books for Children 1999
ABC Children’s Booksellers Choices Awards 1999
Beehive Children’s Poetry Book Award 2002

CONNECTIONS

Other books by Douglas Florian
Florian, Douglas. 1998. Beast Feast. ISBN 0152017372
Florian, Douglas. 2000. On the Wing. ISBN 0152023666
Florian, Douglas. 2001. In the swim. ISBN 0613348389

Activities
*Use this book to discuss a unit on insects or poetry.
*Encourage students to create a poem about their favorite animal.
*Have students read/share their favorite poem from the Douglas Florian collection during a poetry reading.
*Poll classes on their favorite poet or poem and have the class favorites read aloud during morning announcements during National Poetry Week (August 31 to September 09).