My Hippo Has the Hiccups: And Other Poems I Totally Made Up

by Kenn Nesbitt, Ethan Long (Illustrator)

Kenn Nesbitt's hilarious poetry is adored by kids. They just can't get enough of the great beats, wonderful imagery, and good ol' belly laughs his poetry contains! With over a hundred poems included, most of them new but some old favorites too, My Hippo Has the Hiccups is a laugh-out-loud good time. The audio CD features lots of the great poem readings and zany humor that make Kenn one of the most widely sought school speakers in the country.

From angry vegetables to misbehaving robots to the boy who is only half a werewolf, these are all officially poems Kenn totally made up:

my robot does my homework! | i bought a pet banana! | when vegetables are angry...

Be sure to visit Kenn online at the world's most popular poetry site for kids: poetry4kids.com

Genres: Poetry, Humor, Middle Grade, Animals, Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship

181 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

Kenn Nesbitt is the author of several collections of funny poetry for kids, including Revenge of the Lunch Ladies, When the Teacher Isn't Looking, and The Aliens Have Landed at Our School! His poems have appeared many bestselling anthologies, including every book in the popular Kids Pick the Funniest Poems series, and anthologies from Scholastic with nearly 2 million copies in print. He is also the creator of the world's most popular children's poetry website on the Internet.

Reviews

[Tamar...playing hooky for a few hours today · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rewrite of a previous review of a marvelous book that is so much fun to read. I read it with my grandkids…we laugh and laugh…sing along where relevant, and when I put the book down, the kids chase after me reading the poems over and over. If you have children ages 7-77 (more or less) this book is available in many libraries including on Hoopla, if your library subscribes. I highly recommend😊😊😊😊

The rhyme schemes are strictly comfort zone - ABAB / AABB / ABCB and it's like Robert Louis Stevenson woke up after over 100 years with a 2009 sense of humor and added over 100 poems to his Child’s Garden of Verses.

I’ve copied out four of Nesbitt’s poems – two for kids and two for my GR Friends who are particular about their punctuation. I hope you love them!

MY HIPPO HAS THE HICCUPS

My hippo has the hiccups
And his hiccups shake the ground.
The floor is always rumbling
when my hippo is around.

I bought him at the pet store,
But I missed a small detail.
I didn’t see the sign said,
“Hiccupotamus for sale.”

HAP-THE-HAPPY-HYPHENATOR

I’m-Hap-the-Happy-Hyphenator,
Hyphens-are-my-thing.
I-like-the-way-they-give-my-words
that-extra-bit-of-zing

I-really-can’t-explain it-
but-it-makes-me-feel-just-great.
And-so,-no-matter-what-I-write,-
I-always-hyphenate.

I-do-not-like-parentheses.
Quotation-marks-are-dull.
Apostrophes-and-colons-drive-me
right-out-of-my-skull.

I-do-not-need-the-angle-bracket,-
question-mark-or-slash.
I’d-love-to-stay-and-tell-you-more –
but-now-I-have-to-dash ----

(I’M ALWAYS IN PARETHESES)

(I’m always is parentheses)
(which makes me hard to hear)
(regardless if I’m yelling loud)
(or if you’re leaning near.)

(It sounds as if I’m whispering.)
(My voice is just a squeak,)
(and even if I scream and shout)
(it comes out soft and meek.)

(Parentheses imprison me.)
(They hold me like a jail.)
(I try to break these tiny curves)
(but every time I fail.)

(I’m sick of these parentheses,)
(these little muffling arcs.)
I WANT TO BE IN CAPITALS
WITH EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!

TODAY I WROTE THIS POEM

Today I wrote this poem,
but I wonder if it’s good.
It doesn’t have the things
my teacher says a poem should.

It doesn’t share the feelings
I have deep inside of me.
It hasn’t any metaphors
and not one simile.

It’s missing any narrative
Alliteration too
It isn’t an acrostic,
diamanté, or haiku.

There’s nothing that’s personified.
It doesn’t have a plot.
I’m pretty sure that rhyming
is the only thing it’s got.

It sure was fun to write it,
and I think it’s long enough.
It’s just too bad it's missing
All the great poetic stuff.

I put it on my teacher’s desk
and, wow, she made a fuss.
She handed back my poem
with an A++++!


Among the more than 100 funky poems and titles:

I Think My Dad Is Dracula
Frank the Frog Collector
I Taught My Cat to Clean My Room
My Bunny Lies over My Doggy (sung to the tune of …..)
My Father Looks Like Frankenstein
I’m Digging a Tunnel to China
My Robot Does My Homework
If I Were the Principal
My Foot Fell Asleep
Chicken Pox Connect-the-Dots
Wally Wards the Sword Swallower
I Cloned Myself on Friday Night
Ignore the Red Rhinoceros
I’m Only Half a Werewolf
I Built Myself a Time Machine
I Wrote Myself a Letter
My Elephant is Missing
My Goldfish Took Up Tennis

[Debbie Reiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Hippo has the Hiccups and Other Poems I Totally Made Up by Kenn Nesbitt is a book of poems. The age group this book is intended for is primary to intermediate. This book has an assortment of silly, rhyming, fictional poems.
I thought this book was hilarious and I enjoyed the creativity and silliness of the poems. I was laughing out loud reading these poems because of the puns, spoofs on fairy tales, and some of the details in these short poems. The illustrations were simple and in black and white. If you stop to look at the title and the illustration you could guess what it was about, but sometimes he’d throw in a surprise ending, for example, “Learning How to Juggle,” at the end he was throwing saws and hammers and hatchets, but then he admits, “I just haven’t learned to catch.” Okay, maybe a little corny, but cute. It was very creative and hard to choose a favorite, but I really liked “I Often Contradict Myself.” It was full of contradictions.
I would recommend this book for young readers because it was enjoyable and it shows children they can have fun with reading, and be creative and silly with writing.

[(NS) - Heather Hayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I looked through this book, I immediately was wrapped up and lost in the writing. This is a great book of poetry that is guaranteed to have the children full of giggles and realizing that poetry can be a lot of fun. It is a wonderful text that shows children how writing poetry isn't as tedious of a task as often thought. In addition, listeners will enjoy the 39 poems on the CD that accompanies the book, which is wonderful for children who have not started to read yet.

After reading this poetry book, I was extremely impressed by the talent of this author. I actually am interested in finding other poem books he has written to potentially add to my collection as well. The poems are funny and short, which is the perfect combination for children. It also provides children with good ideas for writing their own poetry. Kenn Nesbitt actually teaches children that there is a poet inside each and every one of them. I cannot wait to share this poetry text with my students. I know it will provide some laughs to go along with their poetry experience.

[Aryana Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenn Nesbitt is a very clever man. He came up with the most interesting, funny, and cool poems for children to read and have interest in. Varying from short to long poems.
Personal Reaction - Reading these poems really had me interested while some hade me thinking. I think some of the things he wrote about I used to think about, like the weird stuff I thought no one else would ever think of.
Purposes:
Read aloud to K-4 children for several potential purposes: enjoyment and entertainment. Through the long day of school these short/long poems will make all the children feel better.
- discussion of fantasy
- narrative structure: Great to use and demonstrating of the thinking outside the box. The stories are all different and unique in their own ways.
-introduction or reinforcement of character there really is not one main character it is just about different kinds of animals.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book. It’s filled with quirky and fun poems that your kids will giggle over. There’s also a CD that includes the author reading some of his favorite poems and telling some jokes.

I’m not much on poems. I do have a couple of collections I revisit from time to time. This collection had me coming back over and over. Every time I opened the book, I had to share some of the poems out loud. My mother and son loved those times as much as I did.

And I enjoyed the fun illustrations sprinkled throughout the book too. Couldn’t help but smile.

Looking for a rip snorting, rib tickling good time. Grab a copy and get to it! You’ll have a belly full or laughter and a heart full of glee. I’ll bet you love this collection every bit as much as your children will.

I received this book as a gift.

[Lagobond · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this book with its promising title started off well enough. An accidental purchase of a hiccupotamus, what's not to like! Next up were a couple decent poems about pointless poetry and every day being a good day. A clunky rhyme here and there, but for the most part things were going fine. I even thought I might have come across another potential favorite for the poetry-loving kiddos in my life.

And THEN the author launched into a poem about a robot that just refuses to do any chores around the house. Which ends as follows:

My robot must be broken.
I'll need to get another.
Until that day, I have to say,
I'm glad I have my mother.

Excuse me, what now? What is this, the 1950s? Apparently in Kenn Nesbitt's world, "mother" still equals "housekeeper." I suddenly find I have zero interest in what else he has to say. And here I thought we might become friends.

[Amy Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains over 100 short poems that children will love. The humorous poems throughout the book will keep students interested in what they are reading or listening to. This is a great way to get students interested in poetry and show them how exciting it can be. These short poems would be great to read when you have a few extra minutes and need to keep kids busy. Why waste time when you can get students laughing and teach them poetry at the same time? This book also comes with a CD so students can hear different people read the poems.

[Travis Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was immediately lost in the writing of this book, as it is so engaging. This is a great book of poetry that is guaranteed to have children laughing and ultimately realizing that poetry can be a lot of fun to read and write. It is a wonderful text that shows children how writing poetry isn't a tedious task and can encompass many emotions, not just serious or sad. I will have this for my students in my classroom library for them to read. I would also like to make copies for us to share as a class and rehearse them during transition times throughout the day.

[Emily Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I chose to review is My Hippo Has the Hiccups and Other Poems I Totally Made Up by Kenn Nesbitt. His poetry makes kids want to read it because they are funny and are very creative. There are about 110 poems in this book. All of the poems are short enough so that the reader does not lose interest in it and the meaning of the poem is easy to understand. The title of the poems state exactly what the poem is going to be about. He also uses a lot of the poetry techniques. He is a big fan of alliteration, imagery, metaphor, narrative poetry, personification, rhythm, and rhyme. Also, he writes about subjects that kids like to read about. He has poems about animals, monsters, robots, magic, pirates, and so much more. This poetry book is perfect for kids from five to eight years old or the primary group of kids. The poems contain words that are not too difficult for a child to read. There are other poems that read like a song. For example, there is a poem titled My Bunny Lies Over My Doggy and it is to be read like the song My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. If a parent is reading this to their child, the child will be able to put that connection together, hopefully. Even though the illustrations are in black and white, they give a great visual effect for the reader because the author writes what color it should be. In the poem, Sea Monster’s Complaint, there is a picture of what that sea monster might look like. The illustrator, Ethan Long, is very creative with his drawings. Instead of confining a picture to one little section of the page, he works a whole picture around the poem; above, below and on the sides of the text, which is a great technique. The shapes are clear and marked with a definite outline. I recommend this book to anybody who needs a good laugh. Kenn Nesbitt uses all of his imagination to write poetry. His poems are fun and easy to read, short, and there is no hidden meaning to his words. He means exactly what he writes! In high school, students need to pick apart the poem line by line in order to understand what it means but this book is straightforward and everybody’s interpretations will be the same thing.

[Diana Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I read many others by Nesbitt because he came off as a really good author because of this book. It had so many great poems full of laughter. There were so many clever little poems. Some were long and some were short and yet all full of creativity. It gets children's perspective at how sometimes they look at things. It made me feel like I was a kid again reading some of these things and thinking to myself I remember when I used to think about weird things in life like that. The book comes with a CD and although I don't like being read to through audio this book seemed quite engaging that I wouldn't mind listening to it as well. The poems are expressive and show many emotions through them. I also liked the illustrations because although they didn't fill up entire pages they were still amusing.

Poem:
When Vegetable Are Angry

When vegetables are angry
does it mean they're in a stew?
When morning says good morning
does it ask how do you dew?

When mountaintops are spying
would you say they're sneaking peeks?
When water spills on onions
does it turn them into leeks?

To be a good conductor
do you really have to train?
If Superman retired
would he live on Lois Lane?

If streets required clothing
would you buy your street a dress?
If restaurants were dirty
would you eat inside the mess?

Whenever you're impatient
does it mean you're losing wait?
If six bought lunch for seven
would you care how much he ate?

When cheese pots say good evening
do they bid a fond adieu?
When vegetables are angry
does it mean they're in a stew?

[Ch_hayley Medsker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read and listened to some of My Hippo Has the Hiccups: And Other Poems I Totally Made Up by Ken Nesbitt on http://www.poetry4kids.com. This is a totally silly and laugh-out loud book for young readers from 1st through 3rd or 4th grade. I believe this book can accommodate such range of readers. While younger kids with a sense of humor will laugh and love the silliness, older readers may understand some of the challenging vocabulary it offers. The poem entitled, "Learning How to Juggle," states, "I will demonstrate my nimbleness and knack for pitching pegs...you'll be spellbound and astonished, as I sling and try to snatch." Older readers will be able to comprehend this perfectly, while younger readers can use the visuals to understand and get the gist of Nesbitt's humor. If student’s listen to this on the cd, they’ll really grasp a familiarity for prosody when reading poetry. I can’t wait to introduce this to my second grade students. I think it’ll fit in perfectly with our “funny poems” collection.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess I did not listen to the CD, but I bet it's terrific. These poems are wonderful and perfect for kids. Some of them are darkly funny, others downright silly, and they all have great rhythm. Teacher friends, if you do a poetry unit with your class, pick this book up!

[Maxwell Vahila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book with good peoms.

[Heather Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny kid poetry. The 11 year old may have enjoyed it more than I did, but still a book that makes poetry fun, silly and relevant to kids is a win.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess it's difficult to gauge in this day and age (hey, that kinda rhymed!) the extent to which any contemporary children's poet sounds like Shel Silverstein. Do we have any hardcore children's literary poet scholars out there that can answer this question? Because as a kid that's what I grew up with. It was Silverstein or nothing. And yes, I was aware of the presence of Prelutsky, but to my infantile mind he was just Silverstein without the requisite shock, horror, and depth. That's the problem with Silverstein. Did he invent the jokey kid poem? I don't suppose that he did, but he certainly reinvented it. The problem is that when I pick up a book like My Hippo Has the Hiccups I see everything through a Silverstein-shaped lens. This isn't poet Kenn Nesbitt's fault. It's the way I view all books of collected poetry for kids. And to the Nesbitt's credit, his new book of collected poems stands up to my unusually intense scrutiny. Simple funny poems with simply funny illustrations and a not-so simply accompanying CD means that you get the maximum amount out of bang for your poetic buck. Your kid needs some funny poems for Poetry Month? Here's something to hand them. Now comes the tough part; getting it back from them.

Have you ever considered the plight of the truly frog-obsessed? Or taken into consideration the ramifications of what it means when vegetables get angry? Have you thought about what you would do with a hole in the ground if you could really get one all the way to China? Or subjected yourself to image of a penguin wearing a Speedo? Time to start, folks. In 109 poems poet Kenn Nesbitt applies serious (well, maybe not TOO serious) interest to these as well as other silly questions. Puns and poems, jokes and junk, this is a book for the kid with an id. An accompanying CD contains Mr. Nesbitt himself reading thirty-nine of what he hath wrought.

Most of the poems in this book end with a single line or sentence that throws everything you read before on its head. The kid who dreamed of riding a zebra to school wakes up laughing and decides to ride the giraffe instead. The boy who claims he's too full after dinner asks whether or not there will be any dessert on the menu. Sometimes you get a pretty obvious one coming that even a nine-year-old will spot, but at other times, as with the poem "Blackbeard and Bluebeard and Redbeard," the kicker is unexpected and divine. I'm sorry but anyone who can pun up the word "marooned" has my instant appreciation. Nesbitt also indulges in a couple twists, turns, and flourishes that are entirely his own. For example, the poem "Izzy O'Rainty" comes across as fairly inspired. I mean, check out this opening: "I's Izzy O'Rainty / I ain't not bizarre / I is how I ain't / and I ain't how I are."

Nesbitt will also switch up the rhyme scheme once in a while, though you won't necessarily be able to use this book to teach different forms. But while many are the usual ABAB form, once in a while you'll hit on an AAAB AAAB rhyme scheme (I'm sure that there's a name for this and I'm equally certain that I don't know what it is). And to my infinite relief everything scans. Mind you, you might not realize that right off the bat. For example, in the poem "Today I Wrote This Poem" the last line looks like "with an A++++!" but to make the scansion work you actually have to say each and every plus listed.

The partner in crime here is artist Ethan Long, a man best known at this point for his Tickle the Duck. It is interesting to note what Mr. Long has chosen to and not to illustrate. For example, I would think that the "Mythical Monster Party" would be a no-brainer. With lines like "The Tritons are rapping, the Chimeras chant," how don't you put pen to paper? But there must be reasons why this piece remained blank. I also wonder how much interaction went on between Nesbitt and Long. After all, some of the jokes in this book require the illustration as the explanatory gag. For example, "My Father Looks Like Frankenstein" is coupled with a picture of a mummy looking at herself in a mirror. This is to go along with the final line, "I really can't explain how I / turned out to be so pretty." Now the poem doesn't work a jot without the image, so Nesbitt must have been taking visuals into consideration when he wrote some of his verses.

Kenn reads thirty-nine of these poems on an accompanying CD that is included with the book. He's a good reader. His voice changes in pitch and tone depending on the poem in question. Since he doesn't read all the poems there were some I would have liked to have heard parsed, like "Lefty the Lifter" which happens to contain lines like, "Lefty, listing swiftly leftly / drifted off a cliff did." Or I'd even like to hear him sing "My Bunny Lies Over My Doggy" (sung to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"). But at least you get something like "Selley Sellers" which is a tongue twister read three times in an increasingly fast fashion.

It's hard to dislike a book that contains poems with titles like, "My Puppy Punched Me In the Eye". There are some mild flubs (the idea of Lois Lane being a street is used more than once as a joke) but on the whole this is a strong collection of fun and silly poems, ideal for the kid who wants poetry concerned with robots, rabbits, and ridiculousness. Poetry just the way children like it: short and funny.

Ages 8-12.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book while looking for my poems from a website called “poetry4kids”. It has all of Kenn Nesbitt’s poems he has wrote and all of the books they belong to. The poem I had chose from this book was “My Puppy Punched Me In The Eye” which I thought was a very funny poem. Throughout the rest of the book, there are many other poems about animals and other random ones. In the end, I gave this book a 3/5 just because they are very kiddish and generally not ones I enjoy. I know younger kids would absolutely love this book though. It would be a very fun read for the kids.

[Sarah Cho · Rating 4 out of 5]

So incredibly funny! The poems are great to use as an ice breaker for mornings or even before lunchtime. I think that the stories through poems help creat imagination. The less words the more imagination one has to do. Great great book.

[Zariah Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny cute book for young children. This books allows them to use their imagination and be creative all at the same time. I would use this book in my class and recommend others to do the same.

[Rachel Svendsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book of children's poetry. Some of them were very good, funny, or clever, but on the whole I found most of them forgettable. Still, I would give this book to my children or read it to them, as it's clean and innocent fun.

[Madilynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didnt think this book was just full of poems but it didnt take as long as i thought it would to read. This book was kind of boring too.

[Aarvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aarvik liked the particular poems of the book and would make us read them again and again after going through the book once.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved to read with my daughter or even by myself. The fun of words and imagination

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! In the same vein as Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. A new favorite in our home!

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful collection of poems to tickle a child or an adult's funny bone!

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audio CD was a clutch choice for engaging young readers.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been reading this book to my four year old son as a read-aloud all summer. It’s a collection of quirky poems that rhyme and entertain! This is definitely written for kids, but the adults in our house enjoyed some cheesy groans with some of these poems too!

If you’re looking to introduce some poetry to young kids, I’d highly recommend Ken Nesbit! There’s also a CD that goes along with the book, but we didn’t use it. I’m sure it would be entertaining though!!

[Suzanne Manners · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of poetry will amuse you as you recall what it’s like to be a kid. If you are a kid you will definitely relate! I read “My Hippo has the Hiccups” as an eBook that came to me via email. Some of the poems were recorded so I played the audio and listened while I worked. Some of them were so funny I had to play them more that once … like “I Went to the Barber” and “I Taught My Cat to Clean My Room.” The recorded poems had sound effects that added to the humor of the poem. Other poems in the book had to be read. I found myself pausing throughout the day to read another of Nesbitt’s poems, and by the end of the day I was a fan of his work. One of my favorites was “If I Were the Principal.” I have to share it with you because it reminds me of the places we can visit and the things we can do … all through the pages of books.

IF I WERE THE PRINCIPAL
If I were the Principal, boy, things would change.
Our school would be fun, if a little bit strange.
We’d keep kangaroos in classrooms as pets.
We’d travel to Tonga. We’d learn to fly jets.

We’d get to make movies, and all become stars.
For field trips we’d blast off on rockets to Mars.
We’d learn to raise monsters and build time machines.
We’d surf on tsunamis in sleek submarines.

We’d learn to make robots with nuclear brains,
And dig up a dinosaur’s fossil remains.
We’d battle with pirates and plunder their gold.
We’d duel with dragons for treasures untold.

We’d practice some potions and magical spells
to stink up the schoolyard with sickening smells,
to make us invisible, eighty feet tall,
or turn into liquid or walk through a wall.

Yes, if I were Principal, that’s what we’d do.
We’d lock evil scientists up in the zoo,
While vanquishing villains and capturing crooks.
In other words, we would read many more books.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. I giggled at some of the poems, but not many. But then again...I'm not a kid. So maybe kids would find this book funnier than I did.

[Demeyia Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to read a poem about a cat cleaning a room? About moving to China? About meatloaf? If you answer yes, this may be the poetry book for you.

"My Hippo has the Hiccups and Other Poems I totally made up" is an awesome book of poetry for a child. It has over 100 whimsical, funny, and interesting poems that would be an easy read, especially for upper elementary grades. The book also comes with a CD that has audio of different poems in the book which could be useful in the classroom.

Although these poems are funny and awesome, they could serve as great teaching tools when students learn about the elements of poetry. Students could be given a certain poem in which they look for different poetry elements that they have learned about in class. Of course this would be done after modeling to students how to look for features in poetry.

The CD is also a great addition for both students who have not become proficient in reading and those who benefit from things being read aloud. The recordings will keep their attention and also help them understand the concepts at hand.

I would recommend this book and that it be added to a teacher's collection!!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The majority of poems in this collection are sure to entertain young readers, and Nesbitt is at his best when he creates a small story in his poem rather than a string of clever wordplays. For example, "Izzy O'Rainty" and "Anna Graham" are examples of Nesbitt's wordplay poems and while constructed well, seem to fall flat in the entertainment department. Fortunately, there are more poems like "Ignore the Red Rhinicerceros" and "Rapunzel! Rapunzel!" In this collection that are imaginative and humorous. Recommended.