The animal poems of Douglas Florian are funny on purpose--many are written with a punchline in mind. For example, The Walrus (p. 63 of Omnibeasts, 2004):
The pounding spatter
Of salty sea
Makes the Walrus
Walrusty.
And one says Ha ha and moves on (which isn't to say I don't like his work--see below).
A similar package of poems accompanied by drawings is The Mermaid's Purse, by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Flora McDonnelll (Knopf Young Readers, 2000). Hughes' poems, however, are much richer in metaphor, and are much more likely to sink deep into the mind and stew poetically there. I myself am a big fan of metaphors, and get a kick out of throwing them, as it were, at my own children. I'd quote one of the poems, but don't have the book with me...
I haven't seen the anthology of Hughes poems "Collected Poems for Children," which came out in 2005. I am curious to see which the editors found most Child Appropriate, and if this matches the choices my children would make.
what a fun poem and set of thoughts, thanks for sharing it.
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