Genre 3-The Llama With No Pajama

Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Llama Who had No Pajama. New York: Harcourt Books, 1998.

ISBN: 0-15-200111-5

PLOT SUMMARY

Hoberman gives a wide variety of fun children’s poems in The Llama Who Had No Pajama. Within this book we read about everything from birthdays, and whales to swinging on swings. This book is a good example of traditional and rhyming poetry that is easily incorporated in the classroom or library.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The poems in this book are cute and silly. Children and adults alike will enjoy the illustrations and rhyming. Fraser does an eloquent job of illustrating the pictures of seasons, animals, and people. No dark harsh lines are used. The pictures feel much more traditional than most poetry books I have read recently. Another interesting part of this poetry book is the “first line” index. This index is exactly what it sounds like- an index organized by the first line of each poem. I have never seen this done before and I think it is a really interesting way for students to use the index portion of a book. Not very many child’s books offer an index so most students don’t understand how utilize one. I would gladly add The Llama with No Pajama to my classroom library because it offers wonderful traditional poetry and can easily be incorporated into lessons.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

· School Library Journal- “Good for beginning or experienced readers of poetry, this should indeed become a favorite."

· Horn Book- "This collection of some forty years of Hoberman verse is a charmer."

CONNECTIONS

· A teacher or librarian could work with Kindergarteners on rhyming or predicting words.

· The Llama With No Pajama is a great way to introduce a unit on poetry. The poems are simple and a lot of fun. It’s a good way to not overwhelm students while also keeping them intrigued.

· Readers Theatre- Using these poems in play form are a good way to get students moving and up out of their seats while at the same time, working with poetry.