Stardines: Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky (review)

Prelutsky's portmanteau poetry (from Scranimals, BCCB 10/02, and Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant, BCCB 11/06) returns in sixteen new verses about unexpected combinations in the animal world. These mashups are often much more philosophical than before, as in the jollyfish (who "possess the gift/ of monumental glee"), slobsters ("Slobsters are slovenly/ Slobsters are crude"), and swapiti ("No sooner have they set up shop/ than swapiti begin to swap"), but more concrete hybrids appear as well, such as the fountain lion and the gloose (a blend of glue and goose, of course). The poems have the familiar variety of rhyming forms and precision of meter that makes them enjoyable to read aloud as well as alone, and the concepts continue to be amusing and imaginative. Design pushes toward center stage in this volume, with Berger's elegant arrangements of collaged realia (described as "miniature dioramas") resembling attractively displayed and sometimes framed museum exhibits while the accompanying text appears on yellowing slips of pinned paper. The intricate creations are fascinating—the magpipes are a combination of cutout old illustrations, including golden horns as the pipe drones, and curling slips of musical notation, all on tasteful forest felt. This will inspire artists as much as poets and readers (and readers-aloud), so consider allowing kids to respond artistically as well as verbally—and keep lots of paper scraps and glue at the ready.