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Antarctic Antics. Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. Harcourt, 1998. The Story Behind this Book
I set out to write a nonfiction picture book about emperor penguins. I did lots of research and took notes on a yellow legal pad. Then a funny thing happened. I was reading my notes and marking important things, and I found myself doodling little pictures and writing lists of rhyming words. Hmmmm, I thought. Perhaps I could write some scientific poems about penguins. Penguins are just so charming, I was soon pretending I was a penguin myself. I wrote the poems in the first person. All of them are based on the real lives of emperor penguins. Did you know that there is no word in the English language that rhymes with penguin? My book proves that you can write a poem about something (even many poems about something) without rhyming the exact word. Now, the exact word for the way penguins feed their little chicks is "regurgitate." I liked the word instantly because (1) it makes kids giggle, and (2) there are really, truly hundreds of words in the English language that rhyme with regurgitate. Here's my poem, "Regurgitate," from the book Antarctic Antics: It's been one whole hour since I ate. Why is my dinner always late? While you and mom procrastinate, I might become a featherweight! You know what I'd appreciate? Cough it up, Dad. Regurgitate. (When I read this poem aloud, I make the first syllable of the last word really long, "Reeeeeeeeeee..." and I wait for kids to fill in the rest of the word, "...gurgitate.") |
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