Bing Bang Boing: Poems and Drawings (Puffin Poetry Book)

A collection of more than 150 whimsical poems is accompanied by black-pen illustrations and features such zany characters as Genny Glubber, who's fat like blubber; Mr. Giles, who has seven smiles; and little-naughty-nasty Ned, who glued his brother to the bed. Reprint. PW. C. AB.

The 150-plus poems and drawings collected in Douglas Florian's Bing Bang Boing speak to children's great fascinations, from the gleeful disgust of eating bugs to the jittery unrest of perhaps one day bumping into an unexpected monster. Yet it is Florian's creative wordplay that truly distinguishes this text. Take "Commas," for example:

Do commas have mommas
Who teach them to pause
Who comfort and calm them
And clean their sharp claws?
Who tell them short stories
of uncommon commas
And send them to bed
in their comma pajamas?

Bing Bang Boing is officially recommended for grades 4 to 6, but there is plenty in here for children as young as 5 years old, particularly thanks to Florian's exuberant black-and-white line drawings. While a few of the poems seem slanted for adults ("Welcome to suburbia / where life is so superbia"), the majority of this work will charm and engage a wide range of youngsters. With its goofy, fun-to-say title and its wealth of poetic experience inside, this playful collection is certain to become a family favorite along with Florian's well-loved Insectlopedia. (Ages 5 and older) --Jean Lenihan