POEMS AND PAiNTiNGS BY
Douglas Florian
Florian, Douglas. Insectlopedia: poems and paintings. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1998.
ISBN: 0152013067
Summary:
“iNSECTLOPEDiA” written and illustrated by Douglas Florian is a must read for anyone who is interested in insects. From caterpillars, spiders to everyone’s favorite mosquitoes there is a poem. There is also an abundance of rhythm and rhyme for every poetic description of each insect. This is a pleasurable easy read for all.
The paintings created by Douglas Florian for this book are magical and capture the spirit of each insect. There are muted colors with a pop of an enriched vibrant color for your eye to focus on. Each illustration compliments the poem perfectly.
The Army Ants
Left
Right
Left
Right
We’re army ants.
We swarm.
We fight.
We have no home.
We roam.
We race.
You’re lucky if
We miss your place.
Poem Introduction
I know as a teacher the many ways a book like “iNSECTLOPEDiA” can be used, it is wonderful for introducing insects in science. This poem about army ants I picture doing with my kindergarten and 1st grade students. I can imagine us chanting and physically putting our right leg down as we say “right” and our left leg when we chant “left”.
With other grades (2nd-3rd) I would ask after reading the poem “What do army ants do? I would then write Army Ants on butcher paper and create a list of responses to place on the wall. Then I would read another poem from the book and do the same activity.
You could have these students compare and contrast insects merely by reading Mr. Florian’s poetry. However, you may decide to use this book of poetry as a spring board for more in depth discovery of insects.
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