Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Berger's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Not So True Stories & Unreasonable Rhymes) inventive, textured collages add up to a visual treat in this first-rate collection of Prelutsky poems. Readers will behold not only the bold umbrellaphant, whose trunk is literally an umbrella, but also more than a dozen other amusing creatures who (similar to the hybrid mythical beasts of Prelutsky's <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Scranimals) are a cross between an actual animal and an inanimate object, and exhibit combined traits of both. "The Solitary Spatuloon," its body shaped like a black spatula with wings, cries "Syrup!" plaintively, flipping pancakes with its tail. ("Its tail, we note, is well designed/ With this peculiar task in mind.") Especially clever are "The Tearful Zipperpotamuses," whose bodies are zippers that keep unzipping, "So they worry and they fret/ That their insides will fall outside,/ Though this hasn't happened yet." The clever rhymes do not miss a beat, and Berger's collages brim with both unusual visual humor and irony. She pictures the Clocktopus ("Its tentacles in tempo/ With the clock upon its face") with as many clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches as it has appendages, none of them synchronized; and "The Ballpoint Penguins" swoop like ice skaters on lined pages used for cursive writing exercises—the critters "do little else but write and write./ Although they've nothing much to say,/ They write and write it anyway." Young readers will behold a wonderful, fantastically silly book. Ages 4-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

Gr 3-6 Prelutsky is one of the best word crafters in the business, and this collection does not disappoint. Each entry is about a creature that is part animal and part inanimate object. For instance, the Alarmadillos have alarm clocks for bodies, and the Ballpoint Penguins can write with their beaks. The poems are full of fun and wit, with wordplay and meter that never miss a beat. The whimsical illustrations use cut-print media, old-fashioned print images, and a variety of paper textures to create a rich visual treat well suited to the poetry. The detail in the mixed-media pictures makes this a good choice for individual or lap reading, but the poetry begs to be read aloud. This is definitely a do not miss poetry pick. Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT

ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

Like the scrambled animals and vegetables that populated Scranimals (2002), the creatures featured in Prelutsky's latest picture-book verse collection are a wildly imagined crew, beginning with the umbrellaphant of the title: The pachyderm's uncanny trunk / Is probably unique, / and ends in an umbrella / That has yet to spring a leak. Each spread features more creative amalgams of object and animal: alarmadillos (alarm clock and armadillo); ballpoint penguins; and the panthermometer: We can tell the temperature / By looking at its tail. Kids may need help puzzling out some of the combinations (the spatuloon, for example), and the concept and poetry in a few selections, such as The Tearful Zipperpotamuses, feel somewhat forced. In most poems, though, Prelutsky's wordplay is inventive, as are Berger's stylishly retro, photo and cut-paper collages, which extend the wild silliness. Elementary teachers may want to borrow the book's concept and use it, along with Scranimals, in poetry and art exercises that inspire new combinations of creatures.

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Gittel is haunted by the suicide, at age ten, of her best friend Devory and feels responsible for her death; she knew that Devory's brother was raping her but didn't go to the police. Gittel describes her insular Hassidic Jewish community in great detail, convincing readers of how such abuse could take place but be covered up due to shame. Glos.

Kirkus Reviews

The reigning king of iambic "pun"tameter returns with 17 new poems. By compressing words with shared syllables, Prelutsky hybridizes common objects and animals. Kids will delight in meeting "The Eggbeaturkey," "Shoehornets" and "The Ballpoint Penguins." The poems, most executed in iambic tetrameter, turn on trademark absurdity: "The TRUMPETOOS and TUBAOONS / Are blaring out discordant tunes. / They play them loud, they play them long, / But most of all, they play them wrong." Tautly controlling meter and rhyme, Prelutsky brings the roiling fun to a simmer with wry conclusions. ("They march about in close array. / We wish they'd simply march away, / Or stop and take a silent snooze— / Those TUBABOONS and TRUMPETOOS." Berger's whimsical collages craftily handle exotica like "The Solitary Spatuloon" and "The Ocelock." A few poems present challenges. "The Limber Bulboa's" pun is a stretch for younger gigglers, though redeemed with this surefire couplet: "It has no idea what it's likely to find / As it lights up its way with its brilliant behind." Pretty brilliant, indeed. (Poetry. 5-9)