Jack Prelutsky holds the honor being named the first Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. The author of dozens of books, he is loved by children, parents and teachers because of his clever and entertaining -- dare we say even challenging -- verse and ideas.
Scholastic has biographical information about Jack here -- Scholastic resource -- as well as other audio files of the author reading his own material! (It's really a good resource page)
and the Wikipedia entry for him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Prelutsky
NOW here are his books at the easier end of the spectrum. Books from AR 1.8 to 4.0
Spaghetti! Spaghetti! (no picture available)
by Jack Prelutsky
This is an out of print book and probably only available at your local library. Description: A boy loves spaghetti and can't get enough!
- Publisher: The Wright Group
- ISBN-10: 1556246226
-- amazon
Reading Information:
Word Count: 124
Accelerated Reading level: 1.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 35703
Wild Witches' Ball
by Jack Prelutsky
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 3.00 — 4 votes
A tall witch, a round witch, a silly witch, too. Some are spooky, some are cute, and one wears go-go boots! They have gathered for their ball. Why not try to count them all?
- Hardcover: 24 pages
- Publisher: HarperFestival
- ISBN-10: 0060529725
-- amazon
Reading Information:
Word Count: 124
Interest Level: Preschool and very early elementary
Accelerated Reading level: 2.9 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 81648
New Kid On The Block
by Jack Prelutsky, James Stevenson (Illustrator)
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 4.17 — 502 votes Amazon rating — Excellent — 22 votes
This exuberant valise of verse bulges with more than 100 poems about things you've never thought about, such as Underwater Wibbles who dine exclusively on cheese, and things you probably have thought about, such as sneezing oysters and the dot-gobbling Flotz. Jack Prelutsky, one of the premier children's poets of our time, manages to be deadpan and goofy simultaneously and in perfect rhythm right up to the pleasantly unpredictable punch lines of his poems.
- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Greenwillow Books
- ISBN-10: 0688022715
- Look Inside available
- Audio version available
-- amazon
Technical data
Reading Level: generic 3
Interest Level: early elementary
Lexile: NP
Something Big Has Been Here
by Jack Prelutsky, James Stevenson (Illustrator)
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 4.14 — 212 votes Amazon rating — Excellent — 14 votes
A poetry collection to tickle your funny bone, Something Big Has Been Here features more than 100 original poems and black-and-white drawings from the best-selling team of Jack Prelutsky and James Stevenson. Here are four ferocious tigers, a meat loaf that defies an ax, five flying hot dogs-and many, many more people, animals, and things that are destined to become a part of the lives of everyone who loves to laugh.
- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: Greenwillow Books
- ISBN-10: 0061857750
- Look Inside available
- Audio version available
-- amazon
Technical data
Reading Level: generic 3
Interest Level: early elementary
Lexile: NP
There's No Place Like School
by Jack Prelutsky, Jane Manning (Illustrator)
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 3.70 — 10 votes
From suspicious hot lunches to pop quizzes to recess and best friends, everything you love, and love to hate, about school is front and center in this collection of eighteen poems by thirteen celebrated poets.
Reading Information:- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Greenwillow Books (2010)
- ISBN-10: 0060823380
- Look Inside available
-- amazon
Word Count: 995
Interest Level: early elementary
Accelerated Reading level: 3.1 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 138389
Good Sports: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing, and More
by Jack Prelutsky
Chris Raschka (Illustrator)
**STARRED Review** Booklist
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 3.96 — 25 votes Amazon rating — very good — 3 votes
Prelutsky's gleeful verses team up with Raschka's economic, energetic, and humorous illustrations to create a winning book. Seventeen brief, untitled poems, mostly presented across eye-catching spreads, describe the experiences and emotions of young athletes as they participate in a variety of physical pursuits, including soccer, football, ice skating, and gymnastics. The narrators display varying levels of expertise, and although they may not excel at their endeavors, they are all at heart "good sports," dedicated to trying their best.
- Paperback: 40 pages
- Publisher: Dragonfly Books
- ISBN-10: 0375865586
-- amazon
Reading Information:
Word Count: 959
Interest Level: early elementary
Accelerated Reading level: 3.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 114247
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!
by Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky, Lane Smith (Illustrator)
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 4.04 — 785 votes Amazon rating — Excellent — 50 votes
Started by Seuss, finished by Jack Prelutsky, and splendiferously illustrated by Lane Smith, this is the children's book publishing event of the year! Big--56 pages--and bursting with energy, here is a joyous ode to individuality, starring an unsinkable teacher named Miss Bonkers and quirky little Diffendoofer School, which must prove it has taught its students how to think--or have them sent to dreary Flobbertown.
- Hardcover: 64 pages
- Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
- ISBN-10: 0679890084
- Look Inside available
-- amazon
Reading Information:
Word Count: 1,145
Interest Level: elementary
Accelerated Reading level: 3.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 19490
Lexile: AD750L
Pizza The Size Of The Sun
by Jack Prelutsky, James Stevenson (Illustrator)
**Starred Review** Publishers Weekly
**Starred Review** School Library Journal
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 4.12 — 300 votes Amazon rating — Excellent — 23 votes
Yet another masterful collection of poems by the prolific Prelutsky, filled with zany people, improbable creatures, and rhythm and rhyme galore, all combining to celebrate the unusual, the mundane, and the slightly gruesome ("Eyeballs for sale!/Fresh eyeballs for sale!/Delicious, nutritious,/Not moldy or stale."). Each page is brimming with Stevenson's complementary, droll watercolors, reproduced here in black and white....
- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Greenwillow Books
- ISBN-10: 0688132359
- Look Inside available
-- amazon
Technical data
Reading Level: generic 4
Interest Level: tweeners and middle-school
Lexile: NP
My Dog May Be A Genius: Poems
by Jack Prelutsky
James Stevenson (Illustrator)
**Starred Review** Publishers Weekly
4/12 GoodReads avg rating — 4.04 — 71 votes Amazon rating — Excellent — 12 votes
Have you ever encountered an underwater marching band, a pig in a bathing suit, a pet orangutan, or a witch in a hardware store? Have you ever sat with a skunk in a courtroom, shopped for a dinosaur, or conversed with a Bupple, a Wosstrus, a Violinnet, or a Celloon? You will have, once you′ve read this exuberant collaboration from Jack Prelutsky and his "partner in crime"∗ James Stevenson. The "reigning czars of silliness"∗ have once again teamed up to bring readers an irresistible collection of poems that will have tongues twisting, imaginations soaring, and sides aching with laughter. The result is genius, indeed.
- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Greenwillow Books
- ISBN-10: 0066238625
- Look Inside available
- Audio version available
-- amazon
Technical data
Reading Level: generic 4
Interest Level: elementary