Guess Who I Am!!!

If Not for the Cat

Author: Jack Prelutsky

Illustrator: Ted Rand

Publishing Company: Greenwillow Books

Copyright: 2004

Pages: 40

Genre: Poetry/ Specialized Poetry Book

The book is a collection of seventeen haiku poems. Prelutsky uses a variety of animals written in a guess-who-I-am style. Each poem describes a type of animal in the three stanzas. “I. hoverer. Sip the nasturtium's nectar, And sing with my wings” describes a hummingbird. I enjoyed how he put emphasis on each animal; it was a great book.

The illustrations are done in mixed media using watercolors, chalk, spatter, printmaking techniques, and brush ink with bold colors done on watercolor paper and rice paper. All the illustrations are done on a double-spread page. I loved how the illustrator drew the animals in their natural setting.

I recommend this for third through sixth grade. Although this is great way to explore poetry, in a read aloud form. I feel that some of the words are of high frequency (unclulate, nasturtium's, glutinously) because I was a little confused while reading the jellyfish poem. I would use this as a drawing game by reading the poem and let the students draw the animal they think it is. Another way is to use it by introducing a new theme or discussion, type of poetry, and animals. This book has several awards Horn Book Fanfare, Parents' Choice Silver Honor, New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing,” ALA Notable Children’s Book, and Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts (NCTE).