beast feast [Hardcover]

Douglas Florian (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

In this hilarious collection of twenty-one original animal poems and paintings, the animals are out in all their finned, furry, and feathered glory. From lobsters to rheas to fireflies, kiwis to camels to chameleons, here’s a beast for everyone to love!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Florian ( Monster Motel ; Vegetable Garden ) indeed presents a feast--for the eyes and the ears--in this cheerful collection of brief, bouncy poems describing an eclectic roundup of animals. Each focusing on a single "beast," the entries range from snappy two-liners ("The rhea rheally isn't strange-- / It's just an ostrich, rhearranged") to relatively longer poems of cleverly rhymed couplets. Florian's distinctive, full-page watercolors are as playful as his verse: a chameleon (whose hue changes "from mousy browns to leafy greens / And several colors in between") holds an artist's palette and paintbrush; and the "tubby toad" (who is "so squat and plump / That rarely does it even jump") weighs in on a bathroom scale. An ideal read-aloud, this volume will leave young listeners as lighthearted as its own contents. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-A colorful and clever assemblage of 21 animals, from the walrus ("The pounding spatter/Of salty sea/ makes the walrus/Walrusty.") to the kiwi ("Wings so small./No tail at all./ Very rare./Feathers like hair./Quiet and shy./Cannot fly./They call you a bird,/But I don't know why."). Each brief poem employs an Ogden Nashian twist of language, a small surprise, or a happy insight into the familiar. The book's design is as appealing as the verses themselves, pairing each selection with a full-page, splashy, bordered watercolor. Large type, surrounded by plenty of white space, will appeal to younger readers. This collection is an uncluttered, short presentation by an author/illustrator who knows what children will find funny-add to that the bonus of factual information tucked into each poem, and the result is a winner. It's easy to imagine readers becoming inspired to write and illustrate their own poems after spending time with Florian. Clearly a wonderful book.
Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (June 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152951784
• ISBN-13: 978-0152951788
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,904,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Douglas Florian is the creator of many acclaimed picture books including Dinothesaurus, which received starred reviews in four major publications, Comet, Stars, The Moon and Mars, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and Horn Book Fanfare List selection; Bow Wow Meow Meow, winner of the Gryphon Award and a Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year; and Lizards, Frogs and Polliwogs, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book. He lives with his family in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beast Feast, March 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beast Feast : Poems (Paperback)

It is very funny. I'll give the The Walrus In His Chair a "two thumbs up." I memorized The Bat for a Poetry Reading for school. I give The Barracuda some very earth-eating competition. niknnik (Evan, 9)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A banquet of assorted beasts, March 13, 2005

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beast Feast : Poems (Paperback)

This author/illustrator has a marvelous imagination, not to mention a knack for alliteration and quirky rhymes. As if the words weren't enough, the capricious illustrations add to the enjoyment of each page, each new "beast".

The list is indeed a feast: the gamut of strange creatures, great and small, short and tall: the walrus, the anteater, the whale, the pigeon, the sloth, the toad, the kangaroo, mole and even the kiwi, each with eccentricities that engage and challenge children to learn about the variety of nature. And the creative rhymes (often producing unexpected giggles!) are accompanied by equally enchanting illustrations, colorful and humorous.

"I don't claim to
Love the pigeon
But I like it
Just a smidgeon."

Florian's wonderful poems and paintings are perfect for reading to a child at bedtime, especially when that boy or girl, stimulated by sounds and colors, blurts, "Let me read it!" Beast Feast, like all of Florian's imaginative, fantastic books is a treasure to own, a joy to read.

"The kangaroo loves to leap.
Into the air it zooms,
While baby's fast asleep
Inside its kangaroom."

Luan Gaines/2005.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 13, 2008

By 

K. A. Eddy (VT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beast Feast : Poems (Paperback)

I love all the Douglas Florian books and this is no exception. It's such a joy as a parent to have something silly and fun to read to my son (2 years) that's chock full of educational information. My son absolutely loves all of these books...he'll page through himself and say bits of the rhymes.
Beast Feast, Lizards, Frogs and Polliwogs and Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars, are his faves.
The illustrations are funky and may not appeal to everyone, they're not really the usual bright and cheery stuff of children's books, but I think that also adds to their appeal. (I believe his books are categorized for older kids.)
I would highly recommend this author to anyone.