You're Eating Like a Pig Again!

by: Jack Prelutsky

"You're eating like a pig again!"

my mother scolded me,

"If you keep eating like a pig,

a pig is what you'll be!"

I simply cannot fathom

what the fuss is all about,

and haven't I a lovely tail,

and see my splendid snout.

Seismosaurus

By: Jack Prelutsky

Seismosaurus was enormous,

Seismosaurus was tremendous,

Seismosaurus was prodigious,

Seismosaurus was stupendous.

Seismosaurus was titanic,

Seismosaurus was colossal,

Seismosaurus now is nothing

but a monumental fossil.

Iguanodon

By: Jack Prelutsky

Iguanodon, Iguanodon,

whatever made you fade,

you've traveled on, Iguanodon,

we wish you could have stayed.

Iguanodon, Iguanodon,

we've sought you everywhere,

both here and yon, Iguanodon,

but failed to find you there.

Iguanodon, Iguanodon,

you were a gentle kind,

but now you're gone, Iguanodon,

and left your bones behind.

Triceratops

By: Jack Prelutsky

Triceratops had one short horn,

and two as long as spears,

it dwelled near scores of carnosaurs,

and yet it had no fears.

Triceratops was dangerous,

impervious and strong,

the predators that challenged it

did not last very long.

Triceratops fought valiantly,

and vanquished every foe,

so why it ever disappeared,

nobody seems to know.

Ankylosaurus

By: Jack Prelutsky

Clankity Clankity Clankity Clank!

Ankylosaurus was built like a tank,

its hide was a fortress as sturdy as steel,

it tended to be an inedible meal.

It was armored in front, it was armored behind,

there wasn't a thing on its miniscule mind,

it waddled about on its four stubby legs,

nibbling on plants with a mouthful of pegs.

Ankylosaurus was best left alone,

its tail was a cudgel of gristle and bone,

Clankity Clankity Clankity Clank!

Ankylosaurus was built like a tank.

Brachiosaurus

By: Jack Prelutsky

Brachiosaurus had little to do

but stand with its head in the treetops and chew,

it nibbled the leaves that were tender and green,

it was a perpetual eating machine.

Brachiosaurus was truly immense,

its vacuous mind was uncluttered by sense,

it hadn't the need to be clever and wise,

no beast dared to bother a being its size.

Brachiosaurus was clumsy and slow,

but then, there was nowhere it needed to go,

if Brachiosaurus were living today,

no doubt it would frequently be in the way.

Way Down South

Way down South where bananas grow,

A grasshopper stepped on an elephant's toe.

The elephant said, with tears in his eyes,

"Pick on somebody your own size."

Why Run?

By: Norah Smaridge

Jane won't touch a caterpillar,

Mary's frightened of a mouse,

Sally shrieks and runs for Daddy

When a moth flies in the house.

Pam's afraid of shiny beetles,

Spiders make Melinda squirm,

Susan nearly has HYS-Ter)ICS

If you chase her with a worm!

Aren't they foolish to be frightened?

Fancy making such a fuss

Over harmless creepy-crawlies

Who are scared to death - of US.

The Lost Cat

By: Shel Silverstein

We can't find the cat,

We don't know where she's at,

Oh, where did she go?

Does anyone know?

Let's ask this walking hat.

Bear in There

By: Shel Silverstein

There's a Polar Bear

In our Frigidaire -

He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.

With his seat in the meat

And his face in the fish

And his big hairy paws

In the buttery dish,

He's nibbling the noodles,

He's munching the rice,

He's slurping the soda,

He's licking the ice.

And he lets out a roar

If you open the door.

And it gives me a scare

To know he's in there -

That Polary Bear

In our Fridgitydaire.

Blame

By: Shel Silverstein

I wrote such a beautiful book for you

'Bout rainbows and sunshine

And dreams that come true.

But the goat went and ate it

(You knew that he would),

So I wrote you another one

Fast as I could.

Of course it could never be

Nearly as great

As that beautiful book

That the silly goat ate.

So if you don't like

This new book I just wrote -

Blame the goat.

Open House

By: Aileen Fisher

If I were a tree

I'd want to see

a bird with a song

on a branch of me.

I'd want a quick

little squirrel to run

up and down

and around, for fun.

I'd want the cub

of a bear to call,

and a porcupine, big,

and a tree toad, small.

I'd want a katydid

out of sight

on one of my leaves

to sing at night.

And down by my roots

I'd want a mouse

with six little mouselings

in her house.

Long Gone

By: Jack Prelutsky

Don't waste your time in looking for

The long-extinct tyrannosaur,

Because this ancient dinosaur

Just can't be found here anymore.

This also goes for stegosaurus,

Allosaurus, brontosaurus

And any other saur or saurus.

They all lived here long before us.

Too Sad

By: William Cole

It's such a shock,

I almost screech

When I find a worm

inside my peach!

But then, what really

makes me blue

Is to find a worm

who's bit in two!

Gobble Gobble

By: Jack Prelutsky

When the turkey gobble gobbles,

it is plump and proud and perky.

When our family gobble gobbles,

we are gobbling down the turkey.

It's Hard to Be an Elephant

By: Jack Prelutsky

It's hard to be an elephant,

enormous, broad and tall.

I can't attend the cinema,

the seats are all too small.

It's practically impossible

for me to board a bus,

the tired often flatten,

and the driver makes a fuss.

I'm ushered out of luncheonettes,

the waitresses are rude.

They fume, "We cannot feed you,

for you'll finish all our food."

I'm drawn to the piano,

but I'm daunted when I play,

I tend to be ungainly,

and my ears get in the way.

My trunk is far too powerful,

no sooner do I sneeze

than windows crack and shatter

from the impact of the breeze.

I'm plagued by a peculiar,

purely pachydermal plight -

I find no socks and underwear

that fit precisely right.

I'm Usually a Speedy Horse

By: Jack Prelutsky

I'm usually a speedy horse,

today I'm very slow.

I'm hardly making headway

as along the road I go.

I'm slower than a tortoise

or a sloth atop a tree

my rider has decided

that he ought to carry me.

A Gopher In The Garden

By: Jack Prelutsky

There's a gopher in the garden, and he's

eating all the onions,

and he's eating all the carrots, all the corn and

cauliflower,

all the parsley, peas and pumpkins, all the

radishes and greens.

At breakfast, lunch or dinnertime the gopher is

no loafer

and he quickly will devour everything

before his eyes.

He does not even hesitate to eat a cabbage twice

his weight,

or a watermelon five or six or seven

times his size.

I Made My Dog a Valentine

By: Jack Prelutsky

I made my dog a valentine,

she sniffed it very hard,

then chewed on it a little while

and left it in the yard.

I made one for my parakeets,

a pretty paper heart,

they pulled it with their claws and beaks

until it ripped apart.

I made one for my turtle,

all he did was get it wet,

I wonder if a valentine

is wasted on a pet.

My Frog is a Frog

By: Jack Prelutsky

My frog is a frog that is hopelessly hoarse,

my frog is a frog with a reason, of course,

my frog is a frog that cannot croak a note,

my frog is a frog with a frog in its throat.