The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders

Rhymes by Jack Prelutsky

Pictures by Petra Mathers

Scholastic, 2002

63 pages

       This is a book that I borrowed from my CT's classroom. I wasn't instantly drawn to it like I have been others, but I enjoyed the poems and pictures.Most of these poems are either about animals or different places around the country. There is even a poem entitled, "Tuscaloosa". That's right- Tuscaloosa, Alabama! I was a little disappointed that there was no mention of a certain football team, or a guy name "Bear". There were just chickens dancing around at a barbeque.

       The illustrations are very cute. They are mostly made up of primary colors with some grayed out backgrounds.My favorite illustration is of an otter in the ocean. The illustrations are done in watercolors.

       This collection of poetry would be appropriate for all ages! These poems could just be enjoyed for what they are, or you could pull out all these great places that he writes about. You could use it for a hook into a history lesson about Mount Rushmore, or the Grand Canyon. There is a also a counting poem called "Seven Snails and Seven Snakes" that you could use for a counting/adding lesson.