Plot: A collection of whimsical poems about everything. Poems about vultures and bat, UFO’s and being car sick, and heavy backpacks and hippos. These silly and sometimes ridiculous poems can be enjoyed by all ages.

Curricular Connections: (with Teks) Teaching poetry unit. The students will write a poem about their pet or favorite animal.
RULE §110.5 English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 3, Adopted 2017
(9) Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts. The student is expected to:
(B) explain rhyme scheme, sound devices, and structural elements such as stanzas in a variety of poems; ( )

I would use this poetry book as part of a commitment to read a poem a day with my students. The poems are short and funny and could be used to start the day, help with a transition, fill a few extra minutes before lunch, or calm down the craziness before lining up at the end of the day.

Hypnotize a Tiger, by Calef Brown, is a fun little collection of silly poems great for early elementary school kids. It has simple black-and-white (Actually, blue and white) art, and cute, ridiculous poems about many different subjects. Of particular note is the section “word crashes” that combines words into new words. Fun for a lesson on how language develops. One other idea might be to do an art project letting kids pick their favorite poem out of the book and do something with it. This is a creative and entertaining poetry book that would also be fun to read aloud. ( )

The words and illustrations are so playful in this book! ( )

Poems and illustrations are by whimsical author Calef Brown, who draws us into a world of "Alligatorrabbit" and "Oneenormoustork" and Icarus delivering licorice and a skyscraper rocket, amongst many other things. Fantastic book for young and old students with a lot of language to learn and imagery to dissect.