Poet Talk!

Janine Guida

ELLM 612

March 28, 2008

Did you know that a poet can also be a(n):

• Opera singer

• Furniture mover

• Pianist

• Photographer

• Cab driver

• Carpenter

• Potter

Did you know that award-winning poets, famous and loved by millions of children

and adults:

• Can hate poetry as kids?

• Never wanted to be writers?

• Can have first drawings and drafts rejected by publishers?

Do you have any idea who this poet is?

Here are some hints:

• He likes pizza a lot! Especially large ones!

• He’s glad his nose is on his face.

• He writes creepy poems and songs.

• He doesn’t like it when it rains cats and dogs, but prefers pigs and noodles!

Jack Prelutsky!

Picture retrieved from: andersonsbookshop.com

He’s…

Some information:

• Mr. Prelutsky was born in Brooklyn in 1940. He had a very active imagination and a wonderful singing voice. Jack was paid to sing at weddings when he was a boy. He was so good that the Choir Master of the New York’s Metropolitan Opera gave him singing lessons for free! (Collier, 1993)

• Jack was a gifted child and he was also very active in school when he shouldn’t have been. This caused him a lot of difficulty. His over active mind made it hard for his mother and teachers to handle him. (Collier, 1993)

• Jack attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City. While he was there he studied to be an opera singer and also studied to play piano. (Silvey, 1995)

• Mr. Prelutsky was all set to be an opera singer, but luckily for us, he heard Luciano Pavarotti sing. Jack always wanted to be the best at what he did and he thought he’d never be as good as Signore Pavarotti, so he quit. (Collier, 1993)

Fun Fact:• Jack met Bob Dylan (he’s a very

famous singer: ask your parents or grandparents!) and Shel Silverstein in a café in Greenwich Village and they became good friends. Bob Dylan thought Jack’s voice was wonderful, but Jack didn’t want to be a singer for the rest of his life. (Collier, 1993)

Jack became a poet by accident!

When he was 24, Jack knew he wanted to be some kind of artist, but wasn’t sure what kind.

He tried painting and spent half a year making all kinds of odd creatures.

He wrote poems to go with each of them and eventually sent everything to a publisher. (Silvey, 1995), (But only after a friend convinced him to.)

The first company rejected it all. Good thing he didn’t give up and kept trying!

So…

The next publishing editor was Susan Hirshman who did not like the drawings at all. She did like the poems and thought Jack would be a great children’s poet one day and she was right! (Silvey, 1995)

Mr. Prelutsky writes lots of poems for children and has published more than 35 books. He’s also written songs, stories, and poems for adults.

Awards:

• Mr. Prelutsky was named the first Poet laureate for children, by the Poetry Foundation in 2007. – This was a two-year position and he

traveled around to promote children’s poetry.

– You can go to www.poetryfoundation.org for more information.

He’s also won:

• Outstanding Book of the Year • School Library Journal’s Best Books

Selections• Parents’ Choice Award, • Garden State Children’s Book Award,

New Jersey Library Association (Collier, 1993)

Some of his work: Let’s read these aloud:

I Wonder Why Dad is So thoroughly MadFrom: The New Kid On The Block

I wonder why Dad is so thoroughly mad,I can’t understand it at all,Unless it’s the bee still afloat in his tea, or his

underwear pinned to the wall.

Perhaps it’s the dye on his favorite tie,Or the mousetrap that snapped in his shoe,Or the pipeful of gum that he found with his

thumb,Or the toilet sealed tightly with glue.

It can’t be the bread crumbled up in his his bed,Or the slugs someone left in the hall,I wonder why Dad is so thoroughly mad,I can’t understand it at all.

Retrieved from: http://www.jackprelutsky.com/

Ma, Don’t Throw That Shirt Out!

Ma! Don’t throw that shirt out,It’s my all time favorite shirt!I admit it smells peculiar,and is stained with

grease and dirt,That it’s missing half the buttons,And has got so many holesThat it might be infested By a regiment of moles.

Yes! I know that I’ve outgrown it,That it’s faded and it’s torn,I can see the sleeves are frazzled,I’m aware the collar’s worn,But I’ve had this shirt forever,And I swear that I’ll be hurtIf you dare throw that shirt out-IT’S MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SHIRT!

Retrieved from: http://www.jackprelutsky.com/

Some of his work:

• Let’s read these aloud:

• Heeere’s Jack!:– http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/

poet.html?id=81900– http://poetryfoundation.org/journal/audioitem.html?

id=256– http://poetryfoundation.org/journal/audioitem.html?

id=190

Some of his books are:

• There's No Place Like School, Illustrated by Jane Manning, 2010

• Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry, 2008

• Awful Ogre Running Wild, Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, 2008

• It's Christmas!, Illustrated by Marylin Hafner, 2008

• It's Thanksgiving!, Illustrated by Marylin Hafner, 2008

• My Dog May Be a Genius, Illustrated by James Stevenson, 2008

• My Parents Think I'm Sleeping,Illustrated by Yossi Abolafia, 2008

• Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face, Illustrated by Brandon Dorman, 2008

And…• The Wizard, Illustrated by Brandon Dorman, 2007

• In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden, Illustrated by Petra Mathers, 2007

• What a Day It Was at School!, Illustrated by Doug Cushman, 2006

• Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant Illustrated by Carin Berger, 2006

• It's Snowing! It's Snowing!, Illustrated by Yossi Abolafia, 2006

• Awful Ogre's Awful Day, Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, 2005

• If Not for the Cat, Illustrated by Ted Rand, 2004

• The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders, Illustrated by Petra Mathers,2002

And…• Scranimals, Illustrated by Peter Sis, 2002

• It's Raining Pigs & Noodles, Illustrated by James Stevenson, 2000

• A Pizza the Size of the Sun, Illustrated by James Stevenson, 1996

• It's Halloween, Illustrated by Marylin Hafner, 1996

• The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, Illustrated by Peter Sis, 1993

• Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast, Illustrated by Arnold Lobel, 1992

• The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight, Illustrated by Arnold Lobel, 1992

• Something Big Has Been Here, Illustrated by James Stevenson. 1990

• Beneath a Blue Umbrella, Illustrated by Garth Williams, 1990

• Ride a Purple Pelican, Illustrated by Garth Williams, 1986

• The New Kid on the Block, Illustrated by James Stevenson, 1984

Nightmares, Illustrated by Arnold Lobel, 1976

• Retrieved from :http://www.harpercollins.com/search/index.aspx?kw=jack+prelutsky

• Whew! That’s not even all of his books!

Retrieved from: audiobooksonline.com

Mr. Prelutsky also:

• Loves to sing.

• Cycles

• Invents word games

• Collects books and model frogs

• Makes plastic and metal sculptures.

• Has translated poetry from German and Swedish into English!

Being a writer doesn’t make you strange or a nerd, in fact you can be

a poet and be pretty cool!

Your task:• Use one of the following sites to find out

some additional information about Mr. Prelutsky (two facts each please) and be prepared to present that information to the class. You may use one of the sites listed or find another using a search method we’ve practiced. If you are using a site you found on your own, you must check with me before continuing.

• We will use this information to create a game for readers in the lower grades and to go along with our poems in the style of Mr. Prelutsky. See if you can find a book that hasn’t been listed above!

Sites to try:• http://content.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3524

• http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=24470&view=full_sptlght

• http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/prelutskyjack

• http://www.jackprelutsky.com/flash/index.html

• http://www.jackprelutsky.com/

• http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/jack_meet.htm

• http://www.bookrags.com/Jack_Prelutsky

• http://project1.caryacademy.org/echoes/poet_Jack_Prelutsky/DefaultJack%20Prelutsky.htm

• http://www.poetryfoundation.org/

References:• Bloom, Dianna. (2010) Jack Prelutsky: an imagination of his

own. Retrieved from Cary Academy website: http://project1.caryacademy.org/echoes/poet_Jack_Perlutsky/DefaultJack%20Prelutsky.htm

• Bookrags. (2010). Retrieved from Bookrags website: http://www.bookrags.com/Jack_Prelutsky

• Castellitto,Linda The many pocketed poet. (2010) Retrieved from Indiebound website: http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/prelutskyjack

• Collier, Laurie, Nakamura, Joyce (Eds.). (1993). Major authors and illustrators for children and young adults. Vol. 5. Pp.1903-1907

• Poetry Foundation. Retrieved from the Poetry Foundation website: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/

• Prelutsky, Jack. (2010). Retrieved from Jack Prelutsky website: http://www.jackprelutsky.com/

References Con’t:• Random House, (2010). Retrieved from Random House

website: http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=24470&view=full_sptlght

• Reading Today; Feb/Mar 2008, Vol. 25 Issue4, p. 28

• Scholastic. (2010). Retrieved from Scholastic website: http://content.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3524

• Scholastic. (2010). Retrieved from Scholastic website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/jack_meet.htm

• Silvey, Anita. (Ed.). (1995). Children’s books and their creators. pp. 536-537

• Wikipedia.(2010). Retrieved from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Prelutsky