THE BURGER AND THE HOT DOG

Kids who devour poems by Silverstein and Prelutsky will sink their teeth into this collection of poetry featuring a banquet of fanciful food characters. There’s a teacher named Frankie Fish Stick, pungent cheeses named Woodrow and Wanda, and a couple of eager eggs named Yack and Yimmy (two very “yolly guys,” who are—naturally—full of funny “yolks”). Aylesworth (The Tale of Tricky Fox, 2001, etc.) includes lots of favorite foods in his 23 rhyming poems: pizza, bagels, cake, pickles, even chewing gum. Several poems convey subtle lessons about behavior, as in “Nellie and Bill,” the story of a sweet pickle who is a more pleasant friend than her sourpuss dill pickle companion. Some poems are pure dessert, as in “Veggie Soup,” the story of a country/western band with Bo Beet on fiddle and Tex Tater on guitar, or the title poem, which has a soda breaking up a fight and threatening to kick the participants in the buns. Creative teachers will find lots of ways to integrate these poems into the classroom, especially to liven up lessons on nutrition and the food pyramid. The final poem, “Up to You,” encourages young readers to write their own poems about “food folks.” Caldecott Medalist Gammell (Ride, p. 258, etc.) has cooked up a batch of humorous, mixed-media illustrations in a loose, washy style, using coffee for the brown tones for additional thematic flavor. (Poetry. 5-9)