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Animal Trunk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud
This collection of poems explores the adventurous and unpredictable world of animals. Bears chase honey bees, donkeys think they rule, monkeys do as monkeys please and goats kick up their heels.
- GenresPoetryPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Charles Ghigna
156 books49 followersCharles Ghigna - Father Goose® lives in a treehouse in the middle of Alabama. He is the author of more than 100 books from Random House, Disney, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Time Inc. and other publishers. He has written more than 5,000 poems for children and adults that have appeared in anthologies, newspapers and magazines ranging from The New Yorker and Harper’s to Highlights and Cricket magazines. He served as poet-in-residence and chair of creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, instructor of creative writing at Samford University, poetry editor of English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English, and as a nationally syndicated poetry feature writer for Tribune Media Services. He speaks at schools, conferences, libraries, and literary events throughout the U.S. and overseas, and has read his poems at The Library of Congress, The John F. Kennedy Center, American Library in Paris, American School in Paris, and the International Schools of South America. For more information, visit his website at FatherGoose.com
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 24, 2017
Award(s): N/A
Grade: Preschool-2nd grade
Summary: This book is a collection of poems that relate to a variety of different animals. Each poem is about a specific animal, some of the poems rhyming, while others do not. Overall the poems are short, simple, and easy for kids to read along with.
Review: One of the features of the book that I find potentially very useful in the classroom is that it is a poetry book, yet not all of the poems rhyme. I think this book would be great to use during a unit on poetry to illustrate to students that poetry doesn’t always have to rhyme, and could be a good segue into a lesson on different types of poems. Lastly, I enjoyed the colorful illustrations that correspond to each animal that the piece is written about.
In Class Use: The book can be used during a unit on poetry where students have to identify different parts of the poem/features of the poems/which words rhyme. It can also be used as an example for children to follow as they write their own poems about an animal of their choosing.
Grade: Preschool-2nd grade
Summary: This book is a collection of poems that relate to a variety of different animals. Each poem is about a specific animal, some of the poems rhyming, while others do not. Overall the poems are short, simple, and easy for kids to read along with.
Review: One of the features of the book that I find potentially very useful in the classroom is that it is a poetry book, yet not all of the poems rhyme. I think this book would be great to use during a unit on poetry to illustrate to students that poetry doesn’t always have to rhyme, and could be a good segue into a lesson on different types of poems. Lastly, I enjoyed the colorful illustrations that correspond to each animal that the piece is written about.
In Class Use: The book can be used during a unit on poetry where students have to identify different parts of the poem/features of the poems/which words rhyme. It can also be used as an example for children to follow as they write their own poems about an animal of their choosing.
October 16, 2017
Awards: n/a
Appropriate grade level(s): Preschool-1st grade
Summary: This book is a collection of multiple poems each about a different animal and its abilities. Some of the poems rhyme and some of them do not, which children may find unusual for poetry. Each poem has a vibrant colorful picture of the animal it is about.
Review: I think this is a great book for a preschool or elementary class. The poems in the book are fairly short so it is easy for kids to read along. There are a lot of rhyming words in this book also which I enjoyed and I think is beneficial to this book.
Possible in-class uses:
-Unit on animals
-Students could pick an animal from this poem and do more research on that animal
-Studnets can split off into groups and find rhyming words or patterns found in the poem
Appropriate grade level(s): Preschool-1st grade
Summary: This book is a collection of multiple poems each about a different animal and its abilities. Some of the poems rhyme and some of them do not, which children may find unusual for poetry. Each poem has a vibrant colorful picture of the animal it is about.
Review: I think this is a great book for a preschool or elementary class. The poems in the book are fairly short so it is easy for kids to read along. There are a lot of rhyming words in this book also which I enjoyed and I think is beneficial to this book.
Possible in-class uses:
-Unit on animals
-Students could pick an animal from this poem and do more research on that animal
-Studnets can split off into groups and find rhyming words or patterns found in the poem
March 8, 2021
The poems and short songs found in this book are catchy and rhyme well. I like that each of them is helpful for understanding the animal which it is about. Some of the words aren’t the simplest but they’re good for teaching a bigger vocab to younger kids.
November 26, 2023
Poetry
k-2nd grade
The way the poems are written in this book are very entertaining. However, the pictures left me wanting more. They are very exaggerated and some animals don't look like the real thing at all. I think children might enjoy this book more than I did.
k-2nd grade
The way the poems are written in this book are very entertaining. However, the pictures left me wanting more. They are very exaggerated and some animals don't look like the real thing at all. I think children might enjoy this book more than I did.
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March 7, 20171) No Awards
2) Age 3-5
3) This book contains many different poems about all different kinds of animals.
Each page has a picture and a poem of the animal.
There are 14 animals and all the poems contain rhyming words.
4) This book contains silly poems so children will love to read it.
I also like how its well organized. (one picture+one poem)
This book does not have any difficult vocabulary for children, so they can read or even memorize the poems.
5)children can play game with these poems, make a class book with the poems.
2) Age 3-5
3) This book contains many different poems about all different kinds of animals.
Each page has a picture and a poem of the animal.
There are 14 animals and all the poems contain rhyming words.
4) This book contains silly poems so children will love to read it.
I also like how its well organized. (one picture+one poem)
This book does not have any difficult vocabulary for children, so they can read or even memorize the poems.
5)children can play game with these poems, make a class book with the poems.
March 10, 2017
1. Preschool-2nd grade
2. This is a fun book of different types of animal poems. The words are easy to read and the pages are colorful and attention grabbing. This book is not that long and early readers could read it by themselves.
3. I wasn't in love with this book but it is definitely cute and I think kids would enjoy reading it. The overall idea of this book was to make adorable poems about animals and that was achieved but I wouldn't say it is animal special. I also wish they would have used brighter colors for the pages because I feel like the ones they used were a little too dark and would be difficult for children with color blindness to read.
4. This would be a good book for early writers to read during the poetry unit. This book shows how you could take something as simple as an animal and make a poem out of it. So I would read this book to my class and have them use it as a model book for their own poems.
2. This is a fun book of different types of animal poems. The words are easy to read and the pages are colorful and attention grabbing. This book is not that long and early readers could read it by themselves.
3. I wasn't in love with this book but it is definitely cute and I think kids would enjoy reading it. The overall idea of this book was to make adorable poems about animals and that was achieved but I wouldn't say it is animal special. I also wish they would have used brighter colors for the pages because I feel like the ones they used were a little too dark and would be difficult for children with color blindness to read.
4. This would be a good book for early writers to read during the poetry unit. This book shows how you could take something as simple as an animal and make a poem out of it. So I would read this book to my class and have them use it as a model book for their own poems.
March 13, 2017
1. No Awards
2. Kindergarten-2nd grade
3. This book includes poem that go along with different animals. Some of the poems rhyme, others do not. Each poem describes the animal with simple words and sentences.
4. I really enjoyed reading all the poems in this book. The poems were short enough where I would be able to read more than one throughout the day with my class. I also thought the illustrations were fun and colorful!
5. -The students could write a poem for an animal they choose
-Have the students in groups find the rhyming words in one poem, another group finds the syllables, another group find the verbs, and a group find the adjectives.
2. Kindergarten-2nd grade
3. This book includes poem that go along with different animals. Some of the poems rhyme, others do not. Each poem describes the animal with simple words and sentences.
4. I really enjoyed reading all the poems in this book. The poems were short enough where I would be able to read more than one throughout the day with my class. I also thought the illustrations were fun and colorful!
5. -The students could write a poem for an animal they choose
-Have the students in groups find the rhyming words in one poem, another group finds the syllables, another group find the verbs, and a group find the adjectives.
March 7, 2017
Award(s): N/A
Grade: Pre-K to 2nd Grade
Summary: Charles Ghigna's Animal Trunk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud is a collection of poems about all sorts of different animals. Each poem focuses on a different animal and describes what that particular animal can do (like kick or run). Most poems are informative, while others are just silly and cute.
Review: All of the poems in this book are entertaining and really cute. The illustrations are bold and vibrant and they seem to resemble drawings made by actual children. There are a handful of rhyming words in each poem which is a plus!
In Class Use: Unit about animals, Rhyming, just to have in the classroom library, perhaps read a fun poem to calm the kids when the come back from gym or recess
Grade: Pre-K to 2nd Grade
Summary: Charles Ghigna's Animal Trunk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud is a collection of poems about all sorts of different animals. Each poem focuses on a different animal and describes what that particular animal can do (like kick or run). Most poems are informative, while others are just silly and cute.
Review: All of the poems in this book are entertaining and really cute. The illustrations are bold and vibrant and they seem to resemble drawings made by actual children. There are a handful of rhyming words in each poem which is a plus!
In Class Use: Unit about animals, Rhyming, just to have in the classroom library, perhaps read a fun poem to calm the kids when the come back from gym or recess
February 7, 2026
Children's Poetry
I really enjoyed reading this book because it was engaging, and it had some humor in it. There was also a good variety of vocabulary throughout the book for students. Overall, this book would be really good to read to Pre-K through Kindergarten.
I really enjoyed reading this book because it was engaging, and it had some humor in it. There was also a good variety of vocabulary throughout the book for students. Overall, this book would be really good to read to Pre-K through Kindergarten.
December 1, 2016
What a great beginning readers poetry collection! Each poem is about an animal and lists characteristics of it. For example the poem about bunnies; bunnies nibble, bunnies doze, bunnies twitch a bunny nose... Absolutely recommend this book for the classroom whether it be read aloud by the teacher or even read by the students it is a great beginning read for poetry.
March 11, 2008
I loved reading this book as much or more than the kids loved hearing it. Short, silly poems about animals -- some of the best children's verse ever.
April 6, 2011
Fun introduction to poems about animals. Good for preschool poetry read-aloud.
October 30, 2015
This book is bright and easy to read for young readers. young children would learn about animals and enjoy the text along with the colorful illustrations.
January 6, 2016
Very silly poems about different animals. Each animal is highlighted on a two page spread. The illustrations are all very bright and bold.
April 16, 2017
Each poem about one animal, accompanied by silly pictures. There seem to be 2 patterns for the poems: one with verb descriptions, the other more of a limerick. Going to use it with PreK and kindergarten before fields trips to the zoo or farm.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews