A Pizza the Size of the Sun [Hardcover]

Jack Prelutsky (Author), James Stevenson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Jack Prelutsky is widely acknowledged as the poet laureate of the younger generation. (And many people would happily see him crowned with no age qualification.) The New Kid on the Block and Something Big Has Been Here are household words wherever there are kids.

Here is another wondrously rich, varied, clever - and always funny - collection. Meet Miss Misinformation, Swami Gourami, and Gladiola Gloppe (and her Soup Shoppe), and delight in a backwards poem, a poem that ever ends, and scores of others that will be changed, read, and loved by readers of every age. The Prelutsky-Stevenson duo is irresistible. Whether you begin at the beginning or just open the book at random, you won't stop smiling.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Poetry's bad boys are back again, teaming up to take another swipe at stuffiness. Prelutsky's predilection for playfulness percolates throughout this collection of slyly subversive rhymes, and he couldn't ask for a better partner in crime than Stevenson, whose droll, minimalist sketches so enlivened the duo's previous escapades (The New Kid on the Block; Something BIG Has Been Here). Once again Prelutsky demonstrates a robust appreciation of the absurd?and an uncanny knack for turning every possible subject on its head. Here his verse ranges from the short and sweet ("My mother makes me chicken,/ her chicken makes me cough./ I wish that when she made it,/ she took the feathers off") to poems of Jabberwockian silliness (the entry that begins " 'I'm ceiling fad!' a money boned./ 'Alas!' a carrot pride" is just one example). The pages are peppered with kinetic black-and-white drawings; like Thurber, Stevenson wrings a wealth of humor and emotion out of a few dashes of ink. If a laugh is what's needed, just hand over the keys and let these two drive. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 6?Yet another masterful collection of poems by the prolific Prelutsky, filled with zany people, improbable creatures, and rhythm and rhyme galore, all combining to celebrate the unusual, the mundane, and the slightly gruesome ("Eyeballs for sale!/Fresh eyeballs for sale!/Delicious, nutritious,/Not moldy or stale."). Each page is brimming with Stevenson's complementary, droll watercolors, reproduced here in black and white. As with their other collaborations (The New Kid on the Block [1984] and Something Big Has Been Here [1990, both Greenwillow]) this book is a sure bet. Perfect for reading aloud or alone, it will be reached for again and again by teachers, parents, kids, librarians, and anyone else who likes poems that make them chuckle. As a matter of fact, this book should be required reading for those out there who claim they don't like poetry. If you can only afford one poetry collection this year, make it this one.?Carrie Schadle, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (September 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688132359
• ISBN-13: 978-0688132354
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Humorous

More About the Author

Jack Prelutsky has filled more than fifty books of verse with his inventive wordplay, including the national bestsellers The Wizard, Scranimals, and The New Kid on the Block. He is also the author of Be Glad Your Nose is on your Face, a collection of his most celebrated verses. He was named the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Jack Prelutsky lives in Washington State.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 5 Pizza book!, December 16, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Pizza the Size of the Sun (Hardcover)

A Pizza The Size Of The Sun
By Jack Prelutsky
I rate this book 5 stars.
I enjoyed reading this book. There are many funny poems in this book, even though a few are hard to read, such as "I was Walking in a Circle" and "My Elephant is Different". My favorite poem is "A Dizzy Little Duzzle" because the end is connected to the beginning. It is also shaped oddly.
Jack Prelutsky writes kind of like Shel Silverstein. They both write funny poems and they both write for kids. If you like funny poems look for other Jack Prelutsky books such as Something Big Has Been Here and The New Kid on the Block.
The drawings in this book are imaginative. They are drawings you would not normally think of, such as the Preposterpus. I think the drawings add to the descriptive language of the poetry.
I did not enjoy poetry as much until I read Jack Prelutsky's poems. I could have chosen a Shel Silverstein book of poems but "A Pizza the Size of the Sun" has some of my favorite poems. It also is less serious than Shel Silverstein's poems. I would highly recommend this book to you.

By Caleb Stevens

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FUN FUN FUN and FUNNIER!, June 20, 2000

By 

Bernadette A. Moyer (Lutherville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Pizza the Size of the Sun (Hardcover)

We love this book! My twin 8 year olds and I read this from time to time for a really good laugh. Everyone takes turns and it makes for enjoyable reading and sharing. A great way to capture the hesitant reader! Silly poetry that is just plain FUN!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Teachers! What a great resource, April 23, 2000

By 

kerry (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Pizza the Size of the Sun (Hardcover)

Teachers, this is a poetry book for you to use in your classroom. Being a new teacher, I was fretting about my approach to teaching poetry and making it enjoyable for all my students! I use this book in two lesson plans. In the first lesson plan, I split the class into small groups and gave them a poem to act out for the class. The second, I gave them a poem about an amazing elephant and they had to use the details from the poem to illustrate what the elephant looked like! They enjoyed the lessons tons! I think the key to the success of the lessons was that the poems I used from this book were kid-friendly and funny!