Scranimals

We're sailing to Scranimal Island,
It doesn't appear on most maps....

Scranimal Island is where you will find the fragrant RHINOCEROSE,
the cunning BROCCOLIONS.
And if you are really, really lucky and very, very quiet,
you will spot the gentle, shy PANDAFFODIL.
(You may even hear it yawning If the morning's just begun,
Watch its petals slowly open To embrace the rising sun.

So put on your pith helmet and prepare to explore a wilderness of puns and rhymes where birds, beasts, vegetables, and flowers have been mysteriously scrambled together to create creatures you've never seen before — and are unlikely to meet again! Your guides — Jack Prelutsky, poet laureate of the elementary school set, and two-time Caldecott Honor artist Peter Sis — invite you to join them on an adventure you will never forget!

We're sailing to Scranimal Island,
It doesn't appear on most maps....

Scranimal Island is where you will find the fragrant RHINOCEROSE,
the cunning BROCCOLIONS.
And if you are really, really lucky and very, very quiet,
you will spot the gentle, shy PANDAFFODIL.
(You may even hear it yawning If the morning's just begun,
Watch its petals slowly open To embrace the rising sun.

So put on your pith helmet and prepare to explore a wilderness of puns and rhymes where birds, beasts, vegetables, and flowers have been mysteriously scrambled together to create creatures you've never seen before — and are unlikely to meet again! Your guides — Jack Prelutsky, poet laureate of the elementary school set, and two-time Caldecott Honor artist Peter Sis — invite you to join them on an adventure you will never forget!

Publishers Weekly

The meisters of madcap are at it again. This time, Prelutsky and Sis (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight) head off on safari to Scranimal Island, an exotic spot full of odd hybrid creatures just ripe for their devious brand of silliness. Whether tracking a caravan of Camelberta Peaches ("All have humpy, bumpy backs, Stocked with water, juice, and snacks, So the creatures never need Wonder where to drink or feed"), avoiding the clutches of the dread Radishark ("Its appalling, bulbous body Is astonishingly red, And its fangs are sharp and gleaming In its huge and horrid head") or spying on the Bananaconda ("How sinuous and sly you are, How slippery, how yellow"), they scramble up a smorgasbord of flora and fauna. Prelutsky tweaks language with his characteristic glee, wedging in plenty of humor ("Poor Avocadodos, Ungainly and green, You're gone from today's Biological scene") and, as always when Si s is on board, his exquisite artistry raises the bar, adding depth to Prelutsky's light verse. Plying his trademark delicate line and crosshatching, Si s sets off the fantastic creatures against spare, expansive vistas, investing the muted ink-and-watercolor illustrations with a quizzically visionary style. A pair of brightly clad young explorers lurk at the edge of each scene, adding a droll visual grace note. All ages. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Jack Prelutsky has filled more than fifty books of verse with his inventive wordplay, including the national bestsellers The Wizard, Scranimals, and The New Kid on the Block. He is also the author of Be Glad Your Nose is on your Face, a collection of his most celebrated verses. He was named the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Jack Prelutsky lives in Washington State.