Free Choice Poetry: Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast

Hard-Boiled Bugs For Breakfast: And Other Tasty Poems
By Jack Prelutsky
Drawings by Ruth Chan

Prelutsky, Jack & Ruth Chan. Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast: And Other Tasty Poems. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 2021. 9780063019133

Plot Summary

Over one hundred poems of various shapes, styles, and sizes fill this zany book of poetry. Sneezing bees, a chocolate lake, Dracula with trick-or-treaters, an ancient ant, and more can be found within the pages. Bite-size poems with questionable ingredients. Which one will you eat?

Analysis

Jack Prelutsky has written another poetry book in his signature zany style that is sure to delight once more. This time focusing on wacky foods and sneaky puns, he has put together over one hundred poems that are in varying styles, shapes, and sizes. As usual, he uses rhyme and rhythm the most frequently, making his poems ideal for reading aloud with a group. Some of the puns that are in the poems might slip past younger readers, but will be a hit with older audiences. Some of his jokes require an accompanying visual to make sense, like the poem My Nose which says "For then my nose would be a foot - / That would be very wrong." and features an illustration of a boy with a long nose in the shape of a foot. With over one hundred poems, it will be easy for everyone to find one that they love, but so difficult to narrow down their favorite.

Ruth Chan's illustrations are a wonderful addition to Prelutsky's poems, especially when they finish the punchline in the poem. In My Carrots Are Angry, the vegetables are all acting sour and mad because they "are in a stew." Chan's illustration features a large stew pot filled with grumpy looking vegetables with each expression on their faces matching the descriptions from the poem. The black and white colors of the illustrations help the poems keep their white space, not taking away from the words themselves but becoming a perfect compliment. The face of each character are expressive and help readers to feel the different emotions as they are described in the poems.

Excerpt

My Kitchen Was Invaded

My kitchen was invaded

By a horde of nibbling mice.

They nibbled, nibbled, nibbled

On my peanuts, cheese, and rice.

I built a better mousetrap

To remove them from my house.

It didn't do a single thing ---

They've made a better mouse.

Connections

The easy flowing rhyming style that Prelutsky writes in makes his poetry excellent for reading aloud as a group. Students could take turns reading one line each from his poems, or reading them together as one large group. Students may even want to dress up in dramatic theater style clothing and perform the poems for the rest of the class, using their bodies and faces to be as expressive and animated as possible.

Reviews

Shoshana Flax with Horn Book Magazine wrote, "Prelutsky fans specifically, and fans of humorous poetry generally, should find just what they’re looking for here: nonsense confidently delivered in lines that scan satisfyingly, surrounded by Chan’s exuberantly cartooned black-and-white drawings. Along with imaginary creatures and the like, the poems cover familiar realistic kid-concerns such as homework, sibling conflict, and spinach—and if some are a little too familiar (see “I’ve Got a Cold”), guessing a predictable ending might feel like a victory for some readers."

FLAX, SHOSHANA. 2021. “Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast: And Other Tasty Poems.” Horn Book Magazine 97 (2): 106–7. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=148813602&site=ehost-live.

Susan Scheps with the School Library Journal wrote, "Prelutsky's new poetry collection is a gift to the ears and eyes. Written in a variety of rhyme schemes, the poems describe feelings, unusual beasts, and monsters (the lazy slothrush, the confused niddlenudds, the wazawa). Black-and-white cartoon drawings accompany each poem and bring the words—both comical and descriptive—to life. Prelutsky is a master of humor and poetic device. The imagery throughout is interesting and clever: a garden of glowing electric light bulbs; a musical octopus octet; giant bubble gum bubbles that lift a child off the ground."

Scheps, Susan. 2021. “Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast: And Other Tasty Poems.” School Library Journal 67 (1): 86. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=147902939&site=ehost-live.