The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders

by Jack Prelutsky, Petra Mathers (Illustrator)

Twenty-eight rollicking rhymes from the undisputed master of hilarious verse for children, Jack Prelutsky, are matched with enchanting illustrations by Petra Mathers in this uproarious poetry collection.   In this collection there are tongue-twisting (but real) places to visit, such as Tuscaloosa and Winnemucca. There are remarkable sights, such as an elephant perched in a sycamore tree. And there are unforgettable characters, including Granny Gooding, Sarah Small, and Barnaby Boone, all of whose poems are guaranteed to make you smile. Young, sweet, and simply silly, you can bet your boots that this book will have everyone seeing red—suspenders, that is!
From Minneapolis to the Grand Canyon, Tuscaloosa to Seattle, families across the country will love this irresistible modern classic!

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Humor

64 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 2002

About the author

Jack Prelutsky is an American poet. He attended New York public schools, and later the High School of Music and Art and Hunter College. Prelutsky, who has also worked as a busboy, furniture mover, folk singer, and cab driver, claims that he hated poetry in grade school because of the way it was taught. He is the author of more than 30 poetry collections including Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep< and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. He has also compiled countless children's anthologies comprised of poems of others'. Jack Prelutsky was married to Von Tre Venefue, a woman he had met in France. They divorced in 1995, but Jack remarried. He currently lives in Washington state with his wife, Carolyn. He befriended a gay poet named Espiritu Salamanca in 1997 and both now work together in writing poems and stories for children and adults alike.

Reviews

[Almira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Prelutsky is my favorite go to Poet ---- :-)
I read a poem out of this book just about every week at the beginning of story time - I switch with his collection of poems in "The Dragons are Singing Tonight" frequently.

The wonderful thing about Jack is he is a "local" author to Stanwood, WA., as he lives in Seattle and on Bainbridge Island, WA. I always mention that when there are new parents/caregivers in the room at story times. Also he served as the first Children's Poet Laureate from 2006-2008.

If you enjoy humor and poetry, well, you can't go wrong with Jack :-)

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one name drops quite a few lesser known cities (Tuscaloosa, Minot, Winnemucca to name a few) in its poems. This one could be fun for integrating United States geography and poetry.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend the audiobooks which give these poems a country twang twist.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, fun children’s poetry that the whole family can enjoy.

[Danell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Meghan Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was full of poems about different animals and events. The stories are fun and theatrical.

I enjoyed reading the different poems, but at first, I thought it was a story I was reading so I was a little confused. I did like the illustrations, as well.

The book could be used to teach vocab and rhyming words. Learn how to write poetry.

[Anne Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sort of book that you read to a child who is sitting in your lap. With fun illustrations and engaging short poems, this book can get youngsters interested in reading. I even considered doing up the poems with matching needlecraft to use as a decoration for a child's room, so not just children will be inspired by this book.

[Emily Sefcheck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kdg-5th grade
Genre: Poetry

Jack Prelutsky has mastered the art of children's poetry. This is a must have for classrooms. It is full of fun poems that grab readers and shows them a variety of poetry.

[Aaron W. Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book of children’s poetry. It’s 64 pages long and has a unique poem, or verse, along with colorful illustrations every other page. It uses creative names of cities, along with several different animals, which combine to make for some silly stories and situations. 4 Stars.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another fine book for young reader that older people can enjoy also. Prelutsky is a master of story telling for children.

[Taylor Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with a bunch of amazing poetry great for kids. The imagery and vocabulary is amazing.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it so much. These poems would be excellent additions to storytime.

[Ashley Eisenbraun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book with lots of comical poetry. I think kids will love this because it keeps them interested and proves that poetry doesn't have to be boring and cryptic.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so much fun! Listen to the audiobook if you can get it. It's much better to hear the songs than to read them!

[Paula Greenfield]

This is a book of great poems. I really like this writer and look forward to his books I've not read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prelutsky is funny as always, but little added Geography jibs are appreciated.

[Sarah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up for the Twin Cities poem

[Sheila Knotts · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun

[FELICIA JACKSON · Rating 1 out of 5]

Different

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book consists of short poems for children. Enjoyable, funny, whimsical, with amusing, colourful illustrations.

[Haley Hardwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I really enjoyed this book of poems a lot. They were very funny and unpredicatble, and can be used in the classroom in many different ways. Particularly in my opinion to introduce the elements of a poem and/or literature. I particularly likes how he used a lot of personification throughout his book, and the use of clever rhymes. It was also fun to read poems about different parts of the US. It was very entertaining.

Purpose: Read aloud for K-2 grade for several potential purposes:
-enjoyment and enrichment due to the humor and unpredicable poems
-the illustrations are different for each poem and enhace each poem as well for a number of reasons. For example, how the illustrator demonstrated movement through lines, the use of color to show tone and emotion, and size to show perspective. Particularly in the poem “There was a Tiny Baker,” the illustrator uses a number of very small pictures to illustrate and enhace the poem. Whereas in the other poems, all the illustrations are of normal size.
-Each individual illustration could inititate a discussion on ideas related to the poems— such as setting, characters, plot. I think it would be helpful and engaging to teach young chilidren the elements in the context of a short poem that they will enjoy. A great way to introduce those particular elements


Curriculum: Read aloud
-discussion on elements in poetry such as personification and rhyme, as well as classification of poems.
also can be used for introducing geography because many of the poems are linked to places in the United States such as the Grand Canyon, Seattle, El Paso, and Tuscaloosa.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prelutsky, Jack. (2002). The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders. P. Mathers. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Literary Genre: Poetry (Picture Book)

Jack Prelutsky’s language is rhythmic and playful in these 28 poems for young readers. Many of the poems will carry readers around the world from the mountains of South Dakota to the waters of Monterey Bay, from the sycamore tree of Indianapolis to a flock of penguins in the Gulf of Mexico. Other poems share verses about animals, such as the ten brown bears with big bow ties, the furry furry squirrel, a little brown toad, and one old owl. Mathers' simple, bright watercolor illustrations are engaging and are sure to encourage readers to laugh aloud while reading Prelutsky’s humorous words.

Jack Prelutsky is one of my favorite Children’s Poets. One reason being that he exposes younger readers to rich language and new vocabulary, with words such as “frolicking”, “serenade”, “gaily” and “ominous”. Prelutsky is also a master of rhyme; it gives his poem a rhythm that almost reads like a song. I particularly liked the animal poems in this collection and how Prelutsky and Mathers came together to have the illustrations show another feature of the animal than the text describes as if inviting the reader to go and learn more about these amazing creatures. This is without a doubt quality poetry that engages readers and shines a positive light on a genre that often intimidates (even scares) readers.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ultimate Reading Challenge 2017. A book with pictures.

This book was my introduction to Jack Prelutsky. I heard a PBS interview with the author one Sunday. The PBS host and Prelutsky took turns reading from this book and I had to track it down. I love the sing-song nature of his poetry. This book needs a globe or atlas so that you can show children just where all the wonderful places that are mentioned are located.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been trying to flesh out my library's poetry collection, and this is one of the books I recently purchased. I liked many of these poems, but there were a few that weren't quite as good as the others. My favorites were the poems that had a geographical subject. These could be used in the classroom as a springboard to discussing various states, regions, or cities in the United States. Did Jack Prelutsky travel around the country and write poems as he went? The illustrations by Petra Mathers are a lot of fun and add to the humor in the poetry. 3.5 stars.

Here is one of my favorites:

One day in Seattle
I sat by the Sound.
The salmon were jumping,
the birds flew around.
The seagulls were begging
for morsels of bread,
as ominous clouds
gathered high overhead.

A ferry went out,
and a ferry came in.
It started to rain,
I got soaked to my skin.
Seattle is lovely,
but I cannot lie--
without an umbrella
it's hard to stay dry.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Frogs Wore Red-Suspenders by Jack Prelutsky is a fun collection of more than twenty rhymes about people and animals from all over the United States. The poems are illustrated with perfectly matching images that help the reader visualize and experience the various locations mentioned.

The poems in The Frogs Wore Red-Suspenders were fun to read, though not all were my taste. I believe that this particular collection of rhymes would be most appropriate in a history or geography class for children, as it gives them a fun way to learn and explore the world with pictures and easy to memorize rhymes. Jack Prelutsky and Peter Mathers make a great team. Jack Prelutsky is a phenomenal writer and really creates a complete story in just a few lines, while Peter Mathers can create such simple illustrations that bring the stories to life. The book itself is large and great for using when reading to a class of children.

[Sally Deem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry book is unusual as Jack Prelutsky includes many geographical and historical locations found in the United States in his poems. This could lead to extensions into social studies lessons with kids. I also love the challenging vocabulary presented in many of the poems. The illustrations give a very good picture of what the poem is about and gives many clues about the tough vocabulary that's included in the poems. My favorite poem in the book is One Day in Seattle because of the author's word choice and how it paints a great picture of what life is like in Washington. I also love how the author uses such great vocabulary words such as ominous and morsels. After reading this book, I plan on using it to help teach context clues and vocabulary to my advanced first graders that would love the challenge the poems present.

[Hannah Evilsizor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be appropriate for kindergarten through 3rd and maybe a little older. This book contains many examples of personification as you can tell just from the cover. There are many examples of animals traveling or performing something. Lots of the poems have rhymes and repetition This book also contains poems about states. I think It would be fun and educational to read those when you are doing a unit on states in the United States. I would probably also use this book when talking about personification and what that term means. I think it would be fun to have students draw a picture and write their own example of what personification means. This book does a great job of having the illustrations show what the personification is. The book also contains some new vocabulary that could be explored.

[Renee Burr · Rating 4 out of 5]

You cannot talk about children's poetry without talking about Jack Prelutsky. This book is just one of his many many collections of silly poetry for kids. The title of this story is also a poem within the book. The poem, as with most of Prelustky's poems, rhymes and has a silly cast of characters. In this case the characters are animals doing human like things such as wearing suspenders and purple vests! I love the silliness of the poems and I love that his work inspires young children to want to create equally fun poetry of their own.

[N_hannahkang · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my NON-PRINT option - I really didn't like these poems. The combination of the banjo music and Prelutsky's droning voice made me wonder how kids could like these poems. I wonder if the illustrations help...I kept thinking of my niece and whether she would be entertained by these poems. But then I couldn't bear the thought of having to listen to these poems again to see if she'd like them.

[Dani Kappel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prelutsky's poems are very melodic. They would be fun for children to learn and recite. Most of the poems in the book were pretty short, some as short as four lines. They were fun and a good introduction to poetry. He mixed some geography into the poetry, but other then that the poems were about different things. I would recommend this for children around 4-6. It's good for phonological awareness, and print awareness.