The New Kid on the Block

The New Kid on the Block

By: Jack Prelutsky

Illustrated By: James Stevenson

Harper Collins Publishers, 2013

Grade level: 3 and up

Fountas and Pinnell: P

Lexile: NP

Accelerated Reader: 3.7

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud/Individual

Author: Jack Prelutsky

Illustrator: James Stevenson

Summary:

This poem book is filled with over 100 extremely amusing poems about strange creatures and people. In this book, you'll be introduced to jellyfish stew, a bouncing mouse, a ridiculous dog, and a boneless chicken. You'll learn why you shouldn't argue with a shark, eat a dinosaur, or have an alligator for a pet. You'll meet the world's worst singer and the greatest video game player in history. You'll even receive an invitation to a dragon's birthday party.  The illustrations in this book are quite extraordinary, and correlate very well with the poems.

Key Words/Phrases to Describe the Book:

1. Engaging

2. Funny

3. Interactive

4. Imaginative

5. Brought to life

Key Vocabulary:

Dingy: of a dark, dull, or dirty color or aspect; lacking brightness or freshness

Tweaked: to pinch and pull with a jerk and twist

Diatonic: of or relating to the tones, intervals, or harmonies of such scales

Symphonies: an elaborate instrumental composition in three or more movements, similar in form to a sonata but written for an orchestra and usually of far grander proportions and more varied elements

Dilemma: any difficult or perplexing situation or problem

Detonating: to explode with suddenness and violence

Resources: 

Jack Prelutsky's webpage is a website created by the author himself.  It is a way for children to interact and engage with Prelutsky and his poems.  There is a Q&A and information on Prelutsky, as well as interactive games and activities for kids to take part in.

The New Kid on the Block: Part 1 is an interactive YouTube video on a few of Prelutsky's poems in The New Kid on the Block.  It is beneficial for readers who may be having a hard time decoding words within the poems.  Its use of sound and images are fun and engaging. 

Teaching Suggestions:

• Have students read in pairs to one another to work on fluency development
• Have students underline the words that rhyme in each poem with colored pencils 
• Have students add an additional 4-6 lines to a poem of their choice following the storyline and rhyme pattern that has already been created to work on vocabulary and comprehension

Comprehension Strategies:

Before: Have students make predictions on what the poem is going to be about based on the title of the poem and the illustration given.

During: Have students decode each couplet in the poem.  Have them write side notes on the poem explaining what is happening as they read along.  If they don't understand words as they read have them highlight/circle the word and have them write down what they think it means.

After: Have students write who the poem was about and what they think will happen next if the poem continued.

Writing Activity:

A writing activity that would be fun and engaging for students would be to have them make a continuation of a poem of their choice in The New Kid on the Block poem book.  Have them follow the same rhyme scheme as the one already created by Prelutsky. 

Bibliography:

Prelutsky, Jack, and James Stevenson. The New Kid on the Block: Poems. New York, NY: Greenwillow, 1984. Print.