Yuck, You Suck!: Poems About Animals That Sip, Slurp, Suck

Gr 2-6–Exuberant, busy, and brightly colored full-page illustrations show a variety of creatures who “sip, slurp, suck.” Insects, birds, sea life, and animals are drawn with exaggerated features and expressions that give them a cartoonish appearance. The poems are printed directly, but unobtrusively, on the illustrations in a fun font. Most of the poems are bouncy rhymes, with a concrete poem and a haiku also included. Common and uncommon creatures are explored. Lampreys are described: “It looks like a flower, with petals of gold. Keratin fillings. Oh—beauty—behold! Get set to go nearer, through ocean and muck. Does that flower smell pretty? ‘Tis a pity. Oops. Suck.” Prologue and epilogue poems tie the theme together. End notes include an explanation on why animals suck, additional resources, anatomical terms for body parts that suck, informational paragraphs on each creature featured in the book, and a glossary of scientific terms. With a book talk or a display, it will be a hit in libraries or classrooms.