Poetry Review #1

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Prelutsky, Jack. 1980. ROLLING HARVEY DOWN THE HILL. Ill. by Victoria Chess. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0688802583

2. PLOT SUMMARY
ROLLING HARVEY DOWN THE HILL is a collection of humorous poems about the narrator’s friendships with four other boys-Lumpy, Tony, Willie, and Harvey.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a picture book of poems by Jack Prelutsky. They are written from the viewpoint of a nameless narrator about his four friends. The poems all have an abab end rhyme. Prelutsky includes a Contents page with a list of the 15 poems and their pages. The first poem introduces the reader to the narrator’s friends,
“There’s Tony and there’s Lumpy
and there’s Harvey and there’s Will,
and we all hang out together
in the middle of our hill.”

Prelutsky’s theme of friendship is universal. The poems tell stories about the boys’ adventures together, including “Smoking in the Cellar” and when they broke “Mister Mulligan’s Window” while playing baseball. Prelutsky’s poems are also timeless. Children can relate to getting in fights with your friends and then making up: “Willie and I were pals again, as soon as the fight was done, neither of us lost the fight, but neither of us won.” This is a good book about the ups and downs in friendships, the importance of being tolerant, and being able to forgive each other. We learn that Harvey always wins, because “it isn’t that he’s better, it’s that Harvey always cheats,” that he never shares, and that he plays mean practical jokes. The boys get back at Harvey by rolling him down a hill: “Harvey’s always butting in, his mouth is never still, so Tony, Lumpy, Will and me rolled Harvey down the hill.”

Victoria Chess illustrates the book with cartoon-like characters. The book cover is made to look like a brick wall. The front cover has a picture of all the boys with Harvey showing off. The back cover has the boys smiling as they sit on top of Harvey. The illustrations are simply done in black and white. They seem a little dated, since this book was published 26 years ago. However, Chess does a great job of depicting these boys and their relationship. For example, on the title page we see Harvey giving one of the other boys rabbit ears. Then we see them running on the Contents page. The reader can also tell what the boys are feeling from the expressions on their face. When Willie ate a worm, all the boys look queasy. The boys point and laugh when Harvey hits a wall in “The Race”. Finally, we see the narrator standing by himself, both on the dedication page and on the last author page.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Booklist (starred review)
“Fresh and funny.”

AudioFile
“Jack Prelutsky's poems have a strong following. This audio edition--in two forms: narrative and operetta--has similar appeal. The musical version, with music by Jody Tull, is performed by The Boychoir of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The operetta is lively, fun and very professional. It should attract young listeners, who will love the sound effects and gaffs that accompany it. On the second side, Jon Ophoff reads a straightforward narration of the poems. Without the sound effects and snappy music, it seems a little pale, but the clear rendition focuses more on the poems.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*This is a great book to share when discussing friends and friendship. Talk with the class about how people are different and ask them to list what they like about their friends.
*Activities with this book:
-Have different students volunteer to read the poems that deal with each friend. For example, one student will read all of the poems about Lumpy, including “Lumpy is My Friend” and “Lumpy Chases Pigeons.”
-There is also an audio book available that would be fun to listen to while reading along in the book: Jack Prelutsky. 1993. ROLLING HARVEY DOWN THE HILL. Read by the Boychoir of Ann Arbor. Retail pak, 1 cassette. Listening Library. ISBN 0807202177

Just as a side note: I've read a lot of Jack Prelutsky's work and the reader can tell how is his work has grown and evolved over the years. I personally like his newer collections, like SOMETHING BIG HAS BEEN HERE.

Happy Reading!
Lonnie