In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden: & Frogs Wore Red Suspenders

Written by Jack Prelutsky

Narrated by Jack Prelutsky

Impossible to listen to only once, these exuberant poems, written and performed by renowned poet Jack Prelutsky are filled to the brim with smiles and silliness and are sure to be loved by children from Miami to Seattle.

So much to see! So much to do! Listen to this audio book and... meet people and animals in such far-flung places as Minot, Minneapolis, Tuscaloosa, Tucumcari, and the Grand Canyon.... Smell the tall flowers in Aunt Giraffe's garden, sip juice with a big blue goose, eat oodles of noodles with some poodles, and much, much more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 8, 2007
• ISBN: 9780061451195

Jack Prelutsky

Jack Prelutsky is the best-selling author of more than fifty books of poetry, including The New Kid on the Block, illustrated by James Stevenson, and Stardines Swim High Across the Sky, illustrated by Carin Berger. Jack Prelutsky lives in Washington State.

Reviews for In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden

[carolcavedon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first poetry book I chose is called “In Aunt Giraffe’s Green Garden” by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Petra Mathers. The quality of the art is good. The drawings look like could have been done by a talented child; I mean it is child friendly. One more interesting fact is that the illustrator is an Oregonion what can contribute to students motivation to read the book. I don’t think there is a specific theme to the collection of poems. They are kind of related to nature but not all.

[jessie_bear_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This collection of twenty-eight poems presents children with a taste of poetry within a picture book format. Each poem is a stanza or two long, with an appropriate sized font that leaves lots of page space for illustration with large enough text. Common motifs are geography and animals, with poems such as “In the Spring in Kansas City,” “In Toledo,” or “In Bemidji, Minnesota” interspersed with titles like “Seagull, Seagull, or “Little Bat, Little Bat.” These poems employ end rhyme to ensure flow, and are uncomplicated in content. The poems are best enjoyed a few at a time; reading this text cover to cover is not recommended. Mathers’ watercolors bring the poems to life, depicting a main action or idea from the text. The color palette varies by poem; the title poem makes bold use of warm red tones while a poem about a sleepy character uses subdued gradations of blue. The pictures and poems harmoniously create a respectable work of poetry for children. In Aunt Giraffe’s Green Garden has a place in any Prelutsky-centric collection or will work as an acceptable filler in any juvenile poetry collection. It is recommended for children ages five to eight.

[fonsecaelib530a · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Prelutsky, J., & Mathers, P. (2007). In Aunt Giraffe’s green garden. New York: Greenwillow Books.Grades 1 and 2In this collection, children’s poet laureate Jack Prelutsky creates 28 poems full of whimsical situations and a lot of imagination. In the world dreamed by Prelustky—for this is where his inspiration comes from according to the last poem of the book, “There was a little poet” (p.63)—anything is possible. Animals and people share the pages of the book in situations that are sure to bring out smiles in the readers. Most poems are made up of quatrains that maintain a very simple rhyming scheme (abab/abab; aabb/ccdd; abab/cdcd; abcb/aded). Rhymes sound natural, and when read aloud and when read aloud they flow like songs. Alliteration and assonance enliven many of the poems: in “Above the wide Potomac,” readers the eagles’ graceful moves as “they swoop and soar” (p. 25); in “The poodles ate the oodles of noodles,” assonance gives the reader the feeling of a mouthful much like the dogs in the illustration. Prelutsky uses repetition to open and close many of the poems providing a unifying element and intensifying the song quality of his writing. The unusual images painted by the poet’s imagination are sure to surprise and delight children. In “Ten mice went to Denver” (p. 11), the little creatures spend four weeks sightseeing in Denver and squeak in delight of such great sights. In “A blue goose and a little green duck” (p. 13), the absurd partnership is intensified by commonplace details like driving around in truck, eating buttered toast, and sipping juice. Making use of the endless possibilities of children’s imagination, Prelustky creates light-hearted poetry meant to amuse readers of all ages. The illustrations work with the poems to create colorful images that complement each piece. They burst with colors and stylized creatures to add another dimension to the poems. This collection is a great introduction to poetry as it engages children with its vivid vocabulary, zany situations, simple yet effective rhyming patterns, and an overall sense of joy and fun.

[mmsharp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is full a funny rhymes to keep children entertained and laughing. It more or less is a geography lesson as well talking about cities, states and countries. I think the right timing for a child, this book would be perfect.

[katrinafroelich · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This silly collection is sure to incite giggles among all readers. It has a wonderfully rich series of silly rhymes and vibrant watercolor images of fanciful animals. The language is musical and fun to speak, and the images capture interest and bring the animals and imagery to life.