The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems

by Mary Ann Hoberman, Betty Fraser (Illustrator)

If you’re sleepy in the jungle
And you wish to find a pillow,
Take a friendly word of
DO NOT USE AN ARMADILLO!

Covering everything from centipedes to whales, from swinging on swings to ice-skating in winter, from eating applesauce to celebrating birthdays, the delightful poems in this extensive collection convey the experiences of childhood with a fresh timelessness.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens, Picture Books, Animals, Kids, School, 2nd Grade

68 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Mary Ann Hoberman was an American author of over 30 children's books.

Reviews

[Flora Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Llama Who Had No Pajama is an anthology of 100 favorite poems by Mary Ann Hoberman. This book of poems can be a great introduction to poems for young readers. It provides a variety of poems on different subjects like animals, people, childhood fun, and other concepts like time, opposites, and up comparisons. The poems are all enhanced by illustrations that creatively illustrate the action in the poem. This anthology can be a good resource for the classroom to enhance and supplement other genres in reading instruction or just make accessible to students to read independently.

[Sara Hollar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book if you're just beginning to read poetry. Most poems rhyme and made us all giggle. The are quite a few poems about bugs, that's the only bad thing I have to say 😁

[Jerrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good if you have multiple days to read because there are so many poems in this book. I feel that teachers can read this book in the span of a year by reading two or three poems after recess or lunch. Compared to the two other poetry books I chose, I enjoyed this one better. I feel that this book is more "up to date" and modern with its illustrations and word choice.
I liked how in majority of the poems there were repetition lines where the kids can say it after being said a few times. I like how the illustrations were filled with vibrant colors which will attract children to keep reading. I liked how most of the poems related to animals. Again, the title of the book was hardly relevant to the poems it contains. This is probably a highly recommended poetry book to read to your students because some of the content deals with birthdays and school life. I would read this book to my future students!

[Holly Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to get kids excited about and fall in love with poetry? Add Golden Award Winner, Mary Ann Hoberman's 100 poem collection, The Llama Who Had No Pajama to your reading library. Lots of fun with rhyme and rhythm with these high energy poems. So grab a bottle of water and start reading to your kids today.
I would read this with PK-2nd grade students, or anyone that just loves a good time! I would recommend acting many of these out. Great for promoting phonological awareness and fluency. After reading this to your class over the span of multiple days I would let kids pick their favorites. Rereading these until they became familiar to students I would let students pick one to rehearse, record and perform on voice thread. Love this collection. WoW!!

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book of simple poems for children -- most involve animals and nature in some way, and some are serious, but most have elements of humor. We read it over the course of my son's kindergarten school year and I think he enjoyed it, and my three-year-old did too. While there are aspects of some poems that would make more sense to adults or older children (terminology, mostly), there's still enough here for younger kids, and poetry can be a great way to build that vocabulary.

Update: We enjoyed this again three years later. Even my now-eight-year-old liked it just as much the second time through.

[Jamal Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is in a variety of different colors. There's a llama on the front looking at the reader. It is a dark brown color. The llama doesn't look too descriptive. The background is a faded yellow looking color.

This is about a llama basically not having pajamas while every other animal does and knows where to sleep.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book to read when you need a break from another type of book. It wasn't my favorite to sit down and read many pages at a time, but when I broke it up into smaller sections, I enjoyed the poems way more. I also really liked how the illustrations sometimes finished the poems instead of the text. Overall, very cute and creative poetry book.

[Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this after receiving it in the Sonlight A curriculum. Sweet illustrations and fun poems. I read it to my then 5 and 7year olds in kindergarten and second grade respectively. We liked it quite a bit.

[Rosie Gearhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best children's poetry books out there! The kids come back to this one a lot. We especially love "The Birthday Bus," "Brother," "Let's Dress Up," "Rabbit," ... too many to name! Ages 0+

[Raven Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please, please get this book if you're looking for children's poetry! Classic verse. You will LOVE it.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute with very satisfying rhymes and rhythms. It made us giggle quite a bit.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read a few poems from this for 'poetry study'. They were fun and each page has an illustration on it. After we read several pages we stopped (as we only do poetry for 10 minutes or so) and one of my sons said, "thank you for reading those nice, fun poems." Uh, you're welcome. I've read poetry to them for almost 2 years and they've never thanked me.

I'm not sure it it's the great illustrations or that they understand it better now or it's more modern or what. I'll continue to read from this to see what their reaction is.

[Ashley Dam · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Llama Who Had No Pajama" is an anthology of 100 favorite poems by Mary Ann Hoberman. The poems really focus on different topics and aspects of learning, such as seasons, animals, rhyme, nature, letters, opposite, etc. I would have really enjoyed this book of children poetry if I didn't sit down in one sitting and read through the whole book all at once. Some of these poems are really serious and they can become a life lesson to children. Children can really connect with this book because all the poem should have similar qualities in their life such as celebrating birthdays, swinging on the swings, and so many more themes. I found the illustrations to be very well done and they will absolutely attract the reader 's attention. An appropriate grade level for this book would be first grade through fourth grade. An activity I could accomplish with children would be easy and fun once I pick one specific poem. For example, if I picked a poem about rhyme, I can make rhyming clip cards. A big image would take up most of the card, such as "bee" followed by a picture of a bee. There would be two-three other words with pictures located on the bottom. For example, "car", "lamb", "key", the child will then take a clothespin and pin it on the image that rhymes with the bee. Another activity I could accomplish with children would be picking the poem about nature. I would take the children on a nature walk and they can pick up acorns, leaves, rocks, etc. Once we arrive back at the classroom we can sort all of the objects and explore and learn about every once the children found interesting.

[Olivia Lullie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
This book is a collection of 100 poems that range anywhere from birthday parties to rabbits to letters of the alphabet. The poems in the story focus on several different aspects of learning, such as opposites, seasons, letters, rhyme, etc.

Evaluation:
This book contains several fun and whimsical poems that would easily attract to children of any age. The unique poems and the range of the topics give the book a great multifaceted purpose. The illustrations are fun and, some comical that add to the playful tone of the book. Overall, this book is a great tool to have when teaching poetry to students or reading with your children because it adds a fun aspect to poems.

Teaching Idea:
I would choose one of the poems from the book to use in a lesson with the students. Most of the poems in this book contain rhyming, so I think that developing a lesson centered around that concept would allow the teacher to use several of the book's poems. One poem in particular is called "Brother", and contains words like "other" and "mother". While reading, the teacher could have an anchor chart and as the class reads through the poem, the teacher could add the words that rhyme on the anchor chart. After reading, the teacher and students could read the words aloud and the teacher could ask the students what each word have in common. The teacher could then explain the concept and vocabulary of rhyming.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poem The llama who had no pajama is a part of this book with one hundred poems for young children by Mary Hoberman. This book won a poetry foundation award in 2008. This poem is about a llama who is worried he won't be able to sleep because he has no pajamas and everyone else has them. He tries to have his mother makes them but she isn't able to finish the job so he becomes sad, until he falls fast asleep and realizes he never needed them. And that he slept better in just his fur. This is a very cute poem for elementary school children that can also be turned into a fun classroom song. While it is a cute funny story it also teaches kids that they can be happy and comfortable with what they have and that they don't need something just because everyone else has it. It also promoted rymthing throughout the poem which is great for children's language development. I think this is a great beginner poem for young kids.

[Ashley Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. This book is appropriate for Kindergarten through 3rd grade.
2. This book is a collection of 100 short poems. The poems are about animals and other common activities that children can relate to.
3. The poems are short which will make it easy for children to read. The illustrations are colorful and describe the poems. Children will be able to learn a lot of the poems in this book because they are repetitive and have rhymes.
4. One way to use this book in a classroom is when teaching a lesson on repetition. The teacher can pick out certain poems in the book that uses repetition and have the children recite it. This book can also be used to teach phonemic awareness and the teacher can create activities with certain poems to have students sound out words.

[Amanda Munn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot Summary: The Llama Who had No Pajama contains a collection of 100 poems. These poems would work wonderfully for any age group. Each poem revolves around a theme, either an animal or a common activity. Some of the poems are quite humorous and the colorful illustrations are very enveloping.

Critical Analysis: This is a fantastic collection of assorted poems focused on various topics. Everything from animals to birthdays are presented to the audience in a fun and entertaining way. Many were quite informative and the illustrations are adorable.

Learner Connection: Connection: A great story to read to elementary students who are learning rhyming. A lesson where students write their own rhythmic poems then share with the class, or with small groups, would compliment this text well.

[Camryn Bellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems is a poetry book appropriate for children ages 6 to 9. The book contains a collection of a variety of poems. This book has won a Poetry Foundation Award (2008). Each poem discusses different topics such as animals, letters, nature, and more. The book uses multiple elements of poetry including repetitions and rhymes. Hoberman's choice of language and word arrangement adds playfulness to the book. Children can find a catchy musical rhythm in some of the poems. The illustrations' loud colors add even more fun to the poem. Children will find the book's playfulness, musical rhythm, and illustrations appealing to read. Overall, it's a great book to use when teaching new vocabulary and introducing poetry.

[Ryan Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Llama Who Had No Paja:100 Favorite Poems written by Mary Ann Hoberman. Originally published in 1998 and illustrated by Betty Fraser. This book is a collection of children’s poems. The poems in this book range from balloons to monkeys and applesauce. These poems are fun and educational fun for all children. there aren’t really pictures just some that are on the top or the side but they are not the main showcase in this book the words are. I would use this book in my classes to break up the everyday classwork if I see my students get burned out. I give this book 4 stars even though it is a collection of poems it could also give the background on the poems and where they came from and who wrote them. It could also go as far to break the poems down.

[Maddelyn Skeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it is an older book, it is very fun to read. The book consists of 100 poems from birthdays, animals, money and balloons and each poem has its own illustrations. Each poem is very creative and you can tell the author put a lot of thought into creating each poem so that students would enjoy them. When I was younger, one of my teachers would make copies of poems from this book and give us one a few days out of the week and we were able to keep them to build a poetry book.
Something I really liked about this collection of poems is that they were all very easy to read. This book would be a great introduction to poetry and rhyming for young readers.

[Amy Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Llama Who Had No Pajama
Awards: National Parenting Publications Gold Award Winner, Book Sense Book of the Year Finalist
Grade Level: K-4th
Original Summary: A book of 100 poems by one author, geared towards children. The poems all have catchy rhymes and sometimes silly, rhythmical patterns that may get children interested in poetry.
Original Review: A good book to have a large number of poems geared towards children. There is a lot of rhyming and rhythm in the poems.
Classroom Uses: This is a good book to have in a classroom library for children to use to familiarize themselves with poetry.

[Nate Hipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

The little one and I are continuing our tour through children's poetry and this was our next stop. I absolutely loved this one. It had an awesome mixture of silly and serious and featured a number of poetic forms and styles. I particularly appreciated that, while some poems were intentionally sing-songy, most were not written in that humdrum, repetitive style that plague so many poems. My only real complaint is that the art wasn't nearly as engaging as the poetry and felt a little stiff and old-fashioned.

[Cathy Sheetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, Mary Ann Hoberman, is both a Children's Poet Laureate and a winner of the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. She has put together a fun, entertaining and engaging collection of poems that reflect aspects of many young children's interests and lives. These poems are told from a largely white perspective with lots of poems about animals and critters.

Engaging poems to use in a writer's workshop on poetry or to work with young children on phonics or writing for grades K through 3rd grade. Classroom library for K-3rd grade.

[Cala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sometimes silly, sometimes informative compilation of mainly animal poems. I read this aloud throughout the school year as part of Sonlight's HBL K homeschool curriculum to my 5/6 year old and my 2 year old. It was always the highlight of the week. We reread most of the poems numerous times. My kids loved to pick which one to read next. By the end of it, they had most of the titles and/or portions of the poems memorized based on the accompanying illustration.

I would love to give this book 5 stars, but a few of the poems assumed the myth of evolution to be true.

[Lidia Alarcon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awards: National Parenting Publications Gold Award (1998), Child Magazine Best Books of the Year (1998)

Appropriate grade level(s): 1 - 4

Summary: This book contains 100 different poems. It contains poems of different lengths. There is a lot of fun rhyming and rhythm in this book.

Review: There are so many great poems to read in this book. I really like the illustrations in the book. It is a great way to introduce poetry to children.

In-class uses: (1) lesson on poems. (2) rhyming.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare and phenomenal books that deserve more than a 5 star rating. I am blown away by the simplicity and beauty of these poems, which are entertaining for my 2 and 5 year old and myself. We read only 2 a week, and some poems are good. But then there are some that my kids giggle at and want me to read over and over again. Alliteration, simile, metaphor, whimsy...it's there and so lovely.

[Stephanie Littig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute poetry book. I had to also listen to some of these read aloud because they were so cute. My favorite was, of course, Snow because I love it so much! Of course, my other favorite is the title poem, the Llama who had no pajama. I think young students will find these funny and relatable also.

[Ashley Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry- Collection of Poetry
Awards: None
Audience: 5-10 years old
A. This book is written in many different forms.
B. This author uses a lot of rhyming in her poems.
C. Who was the brother and who was he taken to?
A: The brother was little and was taken to the mother who said not to be a bother so he took him to his father.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re sleepy in the jungle
And you wish to find a pillow,
Take a friendly word of warning:
DO NOT USE AN ARMADILLO!

Covering everything from centipedes to whales, from swinging on swings to ice-skating in winter, from eating applesauce to celebrating birthdays, the delightful poems in this extensive collection convey the experiences of childhood with a fresh timelessness.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been searching for a children's poetry anthology with sparse but interesting illustrations and a variety of topics for years! This is a great resource for parents and teachers alike.
This is a more serious anthology, not similar to Jack Prelutsky (who is great) at all.
This collection is all by one author and is not cutesy! Highly recommended.