The Llama Who Had No Pajama

Edited by: Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston

Illustrated by: Betty Fraser

Published by: Harcourt Books, 2006

ISBN 1-4177-4657-2

Plot Summary: This book is a compilation of 100 of Mary Ann Hoberman’s favorite poems for children. The book covers everything from time to applesauce and bugs to zoo animals. It also contains poetry about favorite childhood pastimes such as climbing trees, ice-skating, and celebrating birthdays.

Critical Analysis: This collection of poetry is funny, entertaining, and relatable for readers of all ages. These poems would work wonderfully as read-alouds, and most can stand alone without the accompanying illustrations. The collection is organized well and the poetry flows freely from one page to the next. Parts of this collection are organized by theme, including bugs and animals. The pages are well balanced, with many poems of varying sizes on each page spread.  The skillfully placed, watercolor illustrations compliment the poetry beautifully. The poem “Both My Slippers” describes a pair of bright red slippers that that sit under the bed during the night. The accompanying illustration of a bed is painted in varying green hues, with the bright red slippers sitting underneath. Since red and green are complimentary colors, the simple red slippers seem to pop right out of the page. Illustrations that accompany the bug poems in the book are stunningly painted, and realistic enough to spook the reader just a bit. This book does include reference aids including a table of contents and a first line index, and the illustrations in the book help the reader to browse through the collection to find a poem of choice.

Awards and Reviews:

Best Children’s Books of the Year (1999) Bank Street College of Education

Children’s Book of Distinction (1999) Riverbank Review

Children’s Literature Choice List (1999)

Texas Reading Club (2005)

Gold Award Winner (1998) National Parenting Publications Awards

School Library Journal: Kindergarten-Grade 4?Hoberman's poems, accompanied by Fraser's illustrations, have been delighting children for 40 years. Now, many poems from their out-of-print books are available in this satisfying collection. The selections are mostly humorous, sometimes contemplative, and deal with animals, family, play, and plain silliness. Hoberman's rhythms are lively and agile, and her imagination and sense of humor are still in tune with young readers. Fraser's simple but detailed gouache and watercolor illustrations exhibit the same qualities. The layout is masterfully varied and never overwhelms the poems. There is a table of contents as well as an index of first lines. Good for beginning or experienced readers of poetry, this should indeed become a favorite.

Booklist: Poems drawn from Hoberman's previous works, published between 1957 and 1981, are packaged to delight a new generation of youngsters. Children may be reminded of A. A. Milne's poetry about Pooh, particularly by the earlier poems, but Hoberman's poetry goes deeper, offering children a new way to look at things. In "Birthdays," for instance, Hoberman wonders what it would be like if the celebration came once a week instead of once a year: "Think of all the gifts you'd get / And all the songs you'd hear / And think how quickly you'd grow up; / Wouldn't it feel queer." Animals and bugs, as well as a variety of ordinary childhood experiences, are featured in poetry that is sometimes funny, and often playful in its rhythm and repetition of sounds. Fraser's illustrations add a cheery, appealing look to the book without overwhelming the text. Use this along with Jack Prelutsky's Ride a Purple Pelican (1986) to sprinkle your story times with poems.

Horn Book: This collection of some forty years of Hoberman verse is a charmer. The poems - peppy verses immediately identifiable as Hoberman's by their use of alliteration and repeated words and lines - seem to cover every subject under the sun; all are dependably child-centered.

Christian Science Monitor Best Children’s Books: Want to give young ones the fun of rhyme, rhythm, and word play? Then look for The Llama Who Had no Pajama. There's no reason to wait for poetry units at school to introduce children to verse when Mary Ann Hoberman can do it with her collection of 100 poems.

Connections:

“The Folk Who Live in Backward Town”

The folk who live in Backward Town

Are inside out and upside down.

They wear their hats inside their heads

And go to sleep beneath their beds.

They only eat the apple peeling

And take their walks across the ceiling.

This poem would fit perfectly in “Backwards Day” at school or a “Backwards Storytime” at a library. Have each child in the group write a couplet to add to this poem. With the help of an art teacher or local artist, the children can illustrate their new poem with watercolors.

Read Hoberman’s “The Llama Who Had No Pajama” and Anna Dewdney’s “Llama Llama Red Pajama,” a picture book written in poetic form. Which llama do the student like best? Which llama can they relate to most? To which llama mama are the children’s moms more similar?

Related Titles:

Dewdney, Anna. Llama Llama Red Pajama. New York: Viking, 2005.

Hoberman, Mary Ann. And to Think That We Thought That We’d Never Be Friends. New York: Crown Books, 1999.

Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Tree That Built Time. Naperville: Sourcebooks Jaberwocky, 2009.