Beast Feast

 Florian, D. (1994). Beast feast : Poems and paintings. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. ISBN: 0-15-295178-4

Plot Summary:

    Florian includes 21 short poems about animals along with his interpretation of the animal in the form of a watercolor painting.  The poems are funny and use rhyme to describe a good variety of animals. The watercolor paintings that are paired with each poem follow the same format and use the same amount of space on the page.

Analysis:

This collection of poems is enjoyable, it could be organized as a thematic book as all of the poems fall under the theme animals, and it could also be classified as individual poet compilation.  The book, or individual poems, could be used to introduce children to animals they may not know very much about as Florian uses his words to describe his animal subjects very well. The watercolor paintings are all the same concept of keeping the work within a set space on the page, and are a bit more on the comical and not necessarily accurate, for example the firefly has a plug hanging from it’s thorax, & the chameleon is holding an artist’s palette. This would be a good time to show students that though the animals can be mostly accurately drawn and painted, the way that they were changed can be humorous.  Florian’s poems include different lengths, which could be an asset when using the poem(s) as introductions to animals as it becomes a text that isn’t overwhelming to young students or students that are early readers. Yet, the students have so much to gain from the shorter poems as they could be used to make inferences, ask more rigorous questions, and even peak the students’ interest to research more independently.

Review Excerpts:

    Review on KIRKUS 2011 “A frequent picture-book author-illustrator offers 21 snappy poems about animals, each depicted in a square, dynamically composed watercolor.”

Review on PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 1994 “An ideal read-aloud, this volume will leave young listeners as lighthearted as its own contents.”

1996-1997 Texas Bluebonnet Award Finalist

Connections:

    Art Connection- Watercolor paintings could be used by an instructor on how to keep the art work within a set space though the subject matter may have changed.

    Research-This book would be great when introducing students to research. The length and information in the poems will lend themselves to allow students to come up with questions of things that they want to learn further about of that animal.