The New Kid on the Block (Hardcover)

by Jack Prelutsky (Author), James Stevenson (Illustrator) "There's a new kid on the block,..." (more)
Key Phrases: rotten mood today, carpenter ants, Teddy Bear, Sneaky Sue, Minerva Mott

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This exuberant valise of verse bulges with more than 100 poems about things you've never thought about, such as Underwater Wibbles who dine exclusively on cheese, and things you probably have thought about, such as sneezing oysters and the dot-gobbling Flotz. Jack Prelutsky, one of the premier children's poets of our time, manages to be deadpan and goofy simultaneously and in perfect rhythm right up to the pleasantly unpredictable punch lines of his poems.

Take "Jellyfish Stew." "You're soggy, you're smelly, / you taste like shampoo, / you bog down my belly / with oodles of goo, / yet I would glue noodles / and prunes to my shoe, / for one oozy spoonful / of jellyfish stew." Poems about greedy grannies, exploding Bloders, and hypothetical situations such as having your nose unfortunately situated between your toes are guaranteed to delight you and your favorite kids. Quirky, surprising, and always delightful, Prelutsky's poems make us wish we'd grown up with his books in hand. Illustrator James Stevenson's loose pen-and-ink sketches are lively and fluid, waltzing along perfectly with Prelutsky's playful poetry. Once you and your children have howled your way through this ALA Notable Book, you'll be happy to discover that this talented pair has created two other meaty collections, including Something BIG Has Been Here and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. (Ages 4 to 12)

Review
"A fine prescription against the blues at anytime of year." -- The Horn Book

"A wealth of funny new verse from a favoritepoet...Hilarious black and white art. Another winner from this talented pair." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Here's a new treat for the multitudes who devoured The New Kid on the Block." -- ALA Booklist

"Here's a new treat for the multitudes who devoured The New Kid on the Block." -- Booklist

Ah! A Monster's Lot Is Merry
An Alley Cat With One Life Left
Alligators Are Unfriendly
Archie B. Mccall
Ballad Of A Boneless Chicken
Baloney Belly Billy
Be Glad Your Nose Is On Your Face
Bleezer's Ice Cream
The Bloders Are Exploding
Boing! Boing! Squeak!
Bulgy Bunne
The Carpenter Rages
The Cave Beast Greets A Visitor
The Cherries' Garden Gala
Clara Cleech
Come See The Thing
A Cow's Outside
Cuckoo!
Dainty Dottie Dee
Dauntless Dimble
The Diatonic Dittymunch
Do Oysters Sneeze?
Dora Diller
Drumpp The Grump
Eggs!
Euphonica Jarre
The Flimsy Fleek
Floradora Doe
The Flotz
Forty Performing Bananas
Granny Grizer
Griselda Gratz
Gussie's Greasy Spoon
Happy Birthday, Dear Dragon
Henrietta Snetter
Homework! Oh, Homework!
I Am Falling Off A Mountain
I Am Flying!
I Am Running In A Circle
I Do Not Like The Rat!
I Found A Four-leaf Clover
I Spied My Shadow Slinking
I Toss Them To My Elephant
I Wonder Why Dad Is So Thoroughly Mad
I'd Never Dine On Dinosaurs
I'd Never Eat A Beet
I'm Bold, I'm Brave
I'm Disgusted With My Brother
I'm In A Rotten Mood!
I'm Thankful
I'm The Single Most Wonderful Person I Know
I've Got An Incredible Headache
I've Got An Itch
An Irritating Creature
Its Fangs Were Red
Jellyfish Stew
Lavinia Nink
Louder Than A Clap Of Thunder
Ma! Don't Throw That Shirt Out
Mabel, Remarkable Mabel
Mean Maxine
Michael Built A Bicycle
A Microscopic Topic
Miraculous Mortimer
The Mungle And The Munn
My Baby Brother
My Brother's Head Should Be Replaced
My Dog, He Is An Ugly Dog
My Mother Says I'm Sickening
My Sister Is A Sissy
The Neighbors Are Not Fond Of Me
Never Mince Words With A Shark
The New Kid On The Block
New York Is In North Carolina
Nine Mice
No, I Won't Turn Orange!
The Nothing-doings
Oh, Teddy Bear
Ounce And Bounce
Seymour Snorkke
Sidney Snickke
Sir Blushington Bloone
Sneaky Sue
Snillies
Something Silky
Song Of The Gloopy Gloppers
Stringbean Small
Super-goopy Glue
Suzanna Socked Me Sunday
There Is A Thing
Throckmorton Thratte
Today Is A Day To Crow About
Today Is Very Boring
An Unassuming Owl
Uncanny Colleen
The Underwater Wibbles
We Each Wore Half A Horse
We Heard Wally Wail
What Nerve You've Got, Minerva Mott!
When Dracula Went To The Blood Bank
When Tillie Ate The Chili
When Young, The Slyne
A Wolf Is At The Laundromat
You Need To Have An Iron Rear
Yubbazubbies
Zany Zapper Zockke
The Zoosher
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (August 20, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688022715
• ISBN-13: 978-0688022716
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,340 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #3 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( S ) > Stevenson, James
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  #5 in	Books > Children's Books > Literature > Poetry > Prelutsky, Jack

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Report on The New Kid on the Block, March 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Kid on the Block (Library Binding)

Hi there! I am a 7th grader from Eleva-Strum.I will be telling you some things I like about this book.I like poetry and write poetry. The fun thing about it is sometimes having to rhyme, and just seeing what you can come up with about yourself or whatever else.Also you can make up your own words.One of the poems that I really liked is The New kid on the Block. It sounds like the new kid is a boy, but it's really a girl.I also like how Jack Prelutsky describes her when he writes "that new kid's twice my size." I hope that other people read this and think and say things like me. Thank you for reading my review.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry can be fun!, October 19, 2005

By	Ruth A Esteves (El Cerrito, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I think that this a great way to introduce poetry to kids that may believe it to be boring or stuffy. My son would ask me to read these to him over and over. We did a lot of giggling over some of them.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still makes me Giggle, October 26, 2001

By	Victoria Bishop (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Kid on the Block: Poems (Paperback)

I read this book when it was first published and I was 10 years old. I remember being the first to check it out of our public library when it arrived, and I read and reread it. I still have several of the poems memorized, 'Homework' being my all-time favourite, and I hope I never grow old enough to stop laughing at these worderful, imaginative poems that have brought many smiles to my family.