Jellyfish Stew
Jellyfish stew,
I’m loony for you,
I dearly adore you,
 

you’re creepy to see
revolting to chew,
you slide down inside
with hullabaloo.

 You’re soggy, you’re smelly,
you taste like shampoo,
you bog down my belly with oodles of goo,
yet I would glue noodles
and prunes to my shoe,
for one oozy spoonful
of jellyfish stew.

Nine Mice
Nine Mice on tiny tricycles
went riding on the ice,
they rode in spite of warning signs,
they rode despite advice

 The signs were right, the ice was thin,
in half a trice, the mice fell in,
and from their chin down to their toes
those mice entirely froze.

Nine mindless mice, who paid the price,
are thawing slowly by the ice
still sitting on their tricycles
…nine white and shiny micicles

A pizza the size of the

 I'm making a pizza the size of the sun,
a pizza that's sure to weigh more than a ton,
a pizza too massive to pick up and toss,
a pizza resplendent with oceans of sauce.

I'm topping my pizza with mountains of cheese,
with acres of peppers, pimentos, and peas,
with mushrooms, tomatoes, and sausage galore,
with every last olive they had at the store.

My pizza is sure to be one of a kind,
my pizza will leave other pizzas behind,
my pizza will be a delectable treat
that all who love pizza are welcome to eat.

The oven is hot, I believe it will take
a year and a half for my pizza to bake.
I hardly can wait till my pizza is done,
my wonderful pizza the size of the sun.

Poetry Analysis

The gruesome ghoul, the grisly ghoul,
without the slightest noise
waits patiently beside the school
to feast on girls and boys

He lunges fiercely though the air
as they com out to play,
and grabs a couple my the hair
and drags them far away.

He cracks their bones and snap their backs
and squeezes out their lungs,
he chew their thumbs like candy snacks
and pulls apart their tongues.

He slices their stomachs and bite their hearts
and tears their flash to shreds,
he swallows their toes like toasted tarts
and gobbles down their heads

Fingers, elbow, hands and knees
and arms and legs and feet-
he eats them with delight and ease,
for every part's a treat.

And when the gruesome grisly ghoul
has nothing left to chew,
he hurries to another school
and waits. . . perhaps for you.

“The Ghoul” by children’s poet, Jack Prelutsky, is both horribly frightening and humorous at the same time.  Consider this:

        “he cracks their bones and bites their     t       tongues
         and squeezes out their lung
         he chews their thumbs like candy snacks
         and squeezes out their tongues

 The poem is about a horrible creature who waits outside of schools “to feast on girls and boys” What is most interesting about this poem is that this talented poet can phrase awful images within a light, delicate meter for example:

         “The gruesome ghoul, the grisly ghoul
          without the slightest noise
          waits patiently beside the school
          to feast on girls and boys.”

 Without using this type of singsong meter, this poem would not only sound extremely gory but it would contain no humor. Besides being an entertaining poem for young children, parents would also get humor from this poem by frightening their little kids. Although this poem has a light and humorous touch, it sure scared me when I was little.

The Pancake Collector

Come visit my pancake collection
It’s unique in the civilized world
I have pancakes in every description,
Pancakes flaky and fluffy and curled

 I have pancakes of various sizes
Pancakes regular, heavy and light
Underdone pancakes and overdone pancakes
And pancakes so perfectly right

 I have pancakes locked up in the closets
have pancakes on hangers and hooks
There are bags in boxes and bureaus
And pressed in the pages of books

 There are pretty ones sewn to the cushions
And tastefully pinned to the drapes.
The ceilings are coated with pancakes
And pressed in the pages with crepes.

 I have pancakes in most of my pockets
And concealed in the lining of suites
There are tiny ones stuffed in my mittens
And large one packed in my boots

 I have extra of most of my pancakes,
I maintain them in rows on these shelves
And if you say nice things about them
You may take a few home for yourself

 I see that you’ve got to be going
Won’t you let yourselves out by the door?
It is time that I pour out he batter
And bake up a few hundred more

Humor and imagination are greatly expressed throughout the poem “ The pancakes collector” by children’s poet Jack Prelutsky.  In this poem the pancake collector is describing about all the different varieties of pancakes he makes and the different places he stores them.  Jack Prelutsky’s wonderful imagination allows him to dream up bizarre characters to write poems about.  Although, Jack Prelutsky is an extremely excellent children’s poet, he would be extremely unsuccessful in the adult poetry world because of his lack of adult humor.  In fact, he is said to be a man stuck in a child ‘s body.