Module 6 Poetry & Fiction: Zoo Doings and A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011 Caldecott Medal winner)

Prelutsky, Jack.1983.Ill. Paul O. Zelinsky. Zoo Doings. New York, N.Y.: Greenwillow Books. ISBN-10: 0688017827 ISBN-13: 978-0688017828














Stead, Philip C. 2010. Ill. Erin E. Stead. A Sick Day for Amos McGee. New York, N.Y.: Roaring Book Press. ISBN-10: 9781596434028 ISBN-13: 978-1-59643-402-8

Zoo Doings is a collection of animal poems from Jack Prelutsky. There are several favorite poems from prior books including The Pack Rat and 45 more incredibly outrageous, funny animals. Prelutsky’s wit and Paul O. Zelinsky’s drawings will have you entertained and laughing.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee is a wonderful, feel-good book about the friendships between the zoo keeper and the animals. Amos McGee takes care of the animals every day at the zoo, but one day he gets sick and is not able to be there. His animal friends decide to take the bus and go to Amos’ house to take care of him. This is a truly inspirational book on caring and how friends look out for each other.

Zoo Doings is a compilation of poems from three of Jack Prelutsky’s earlier works. This book was published in 1983 and is still a delight to read. His poems are timeless and should be used again and again. Children ages 3 through 12 will be able to appreciate the rhymes, wit and outrageous antics through these poems. Prelutsky’s gift of rhyming words, fun topics and connecting with children will have them visiting the animals as if at the zoo. Paul O. Zelinsky’s use of line drawings captures the animals in a cartoon effect that children will enjoy. This book is out of print, but if you are able to find it be sure to snatch it up for your library, because it is delight to read.

The Owl

The owl is wary, the owl is wise.
He knows all the names of the stars
in the skies.
He hoots and he toots and he lives
by his wits,
But mostly he sits…and he sits…and he sits.
(Jack Perlutsky, pg. 49)

Pairing Zoo Doings with A Sick Day for Amos McGee is a perfect combination of collaboration between fiction and poetry with first through fourth grades. A Sick Day for Amos McGee will set the tone for the zoo animals and zoo keeper. This book is perfect for talking about relationships with friends that don’t always have to be humans. Using the poems from Zoo Doings will introduce the students to how poetry can be fun with its rhyming and funny use of words. These poems need to be read out loud so that the students can hear the rhyming words. To help students with writing their poems, I would like to have them create a poem using words from poems in Zoo Doings. Using the words from the poem The Owl, I will demonstrate how using the words from this poem, we will be able to make a different poem. The words from several of the poems in Zoo Doings will be printed and handed to students to be cut out and used in creating their poem. The poem can then be glued into their journals, onto construction paper with pictures added to complement the poem or however they would like to use their poem. The words could be mounted on magnetic tape and the students could use them over and over in creating poems. Once they have created their poems, they will share them with the class by reading them out loud. Using their drawings, puppets, making their poem into a rap, or just straight reading will be very enjoyable for all who hear their poetry.