Florian Poetry: INSECTLOPEDIA

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Florian, Douglas. 1998. INSECTLOPEDIA. Ill. by Douglas Florian. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 9780152013066.

REVIEW AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS

 

All 21 poems in INSECTLOPEDIA are written by Douglas Florian and are centered around an insect theme.  Florian has taken a topic that may make some readers squirm in their seats and has made it fun and educational.  Some of Douglas Florian's poems describe the insect’s physical features, while others discuss insect habitats or diet. Readers will learn many interesting facts about the insects while reading these enjoyable poems.  A table of contents is included at the beginning of the book for the readers convenience.

Many different types of poems are included in INSECTLOPEDIA.  Florian's uses the concrete poetry form to add to his poems about the inchworm, whirligig beetles, and termites.  He uses alliteration, rhythms, and rhyme throughout the book that keep the reader interested.  Florian often incorporates rhyme at the end of lines in his poems.  He also plays with sound and meter, and the placement of words on the page to create poems that are unique. 

Florian’s illustrations are as wonderful as the poems themselves. Watercolor on primed brown paper bags with collage is used in the illustrations to truly bring the insect poems to life.  Personification is used to give the insects human characteristics.  His illustrations incorporate the human qualities he gives his insects in the poems.  For example, the daddy longlegs is shown lifting weights, the inchworm is inching his way down a highway, and a waterbug is reading his Father's Day card.

“The Monarch Butterfly”

He is a monarch

He is a king.

He flies great migrations.

Past nations he wings.

He is a monarch.

He is a prince.

When blackbirds attack him,

From poison they wince.

He is a monarch.

He is a duke.

Swallows that swallow him

Frequently puke.

 

Students can use these poems as a spring board into research on a particular insect.  What questions do they have after reading this poem?  Are there parts they don't fully understand?  After researching the insect, can they better explain each part of the poem and how it relates to the insect. 

Many of the poems are written in first person, which could lead to a great lesson on point of view.  The students could write a poem about the same insect from a different point of view.