Hugo and Friends is a poetry book for children that uses Hugo the hippo to show children around the world. I was very interested in this book for the infusion of poetry, environmental activism and caring about others. This is a very tall order for a collection of twelve poems to live up to. I read a few poems a day to a group of pre-school children. They were very interested in Hugo and the bright illustrations. The first poem, Follow Me did a wonderful job of sparking curiosity and excitement; everyone wanted to know where Hugo would go next. However, children are used to poems that rhyme and have a rhythm when spoken to them, not all of these poems did. This opened up a good lesson on poetry and its many forms, but did make some loose interest. Some poems were also far beyond comprehension for this age group such as Population and Dandelion. These have more obscure concepts. My age group did enjoy Sunrise, Dreams and Fly the best.
I did think that this collection was a good way to introduce children to poetry. I was hoping for a little more cohesiveness with the theme, though. Not every poem could be tied in with animals, caring or even traveling around the world. One poem was about candy, just candy (which the kids loved, but was difficult to tie into any lesson). I do wish each poem took the reader to a definite destination on the globe and tied in an animal friend that lives there such as The Wall did. Overall, a different kind of poetry book for children that will help to introduce free-form poetry and larger concepts through verse with the help of brightly colored animal guides.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
I did think that this collection was a good way to introduce children to poetry. I was hoping for a little more cohesiveness with the theme, though. Not every poem could be tied in with animals, caring or even traveling around the world. One poem was about candy, just candy (which the kids loved, but was difficult to tie into any lesson). I do wish each poem took the reader to a definite destination on the globe and tied in an animal friend that lives there such as The Wall did. Overall, a different kind of poetry book for children that will help to introduce free-form poetry and larger concepts through verse with the help of brightly colored animal guides.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
