Review for "Flamingos on the Roof"

Bibliography: Brown, Calef. 2006. Flamingos on the Roof. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 978-0618-56298-5

Critical Analysis

Flamingos on the Roof is a poem picture book that uses vivid acrylic painted pictures to accompany short, rhyming poems with a staccato feel. Brown often relies on alliteration, and his rhyme schemes, while sounding contemporary often sound force and awkward. Consider the following poem, in which we can see a lot of alliteration, and a strong attempt at flow and rhyme.

"Angus

Angus dressed as best he could,
but all his clothes were gray.
Either that or olive drab,
the colors of the day.
So Angus sewed a snazzy suit,
with better brighter cloth.
Not half bad.
Completely plaid.
He never takes it off."

The poem follows a scheme of: a b c b a d e e d, but barely. The words sometimes stretch in rhyme - "could" and "suit," for instance. And, the lines vary in length, giving the poems a jilted feeling.

Although I often wonder at the things children find amusing, I think I would safely bet that this book would not be one of those things. The colorful and expressive pictures are the best part of the book, and at times seem to overtake the poems.

Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: "Packed with amusing details, the paintings consistently expand upon the text. Read aloud, these poems are sure to delight listeners. They also provide a great impetus for inspiring youngsters to write nonsense poetry of their own."

Booklist: "One of the best poems is "TV Taxi," in which the words say there's nothing much to see, but the pictures show a taxi driver on his cell phone as a volcano, a dinosaur, a flying saucer, and a unicorn vie for attention. Words and pictures manage to be both clear and weird, an enjoyable mix."

Awards
Parent's Choice Award recipient, 2006

Connections

This poetry book may be a positive way to help students begin to attempt rhyming poetry. The poet often uses imperfect rhyme and original rhyme scheme, and the slightly silly, and somewhat mundane nature of the poems may help students feel less intimidated when beginning to attempt rhyming poetry.