Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Alligator Pie
Alligator Pie
Alligator Pie
Ebook84 pages26 minutes

Alligator Pie

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

"You can almost hear the skipping rope slapping the sidewalk,” wrote Margaret Laurence of Dennis Lee’s timeless poetry collection Alligator Pie. One of the first illustrated books published about Canadian children and featuring Canadian place names, Alligator Pie established Dennis Lee’s reputation as “Canada’s Father Goose” and has sold more than half a million copies since its publication in 1974. This classic edition, featuring Frank Newfeld’s instantly recognizable original illustrations and book design, includes childhood favourites such as “Willoughby Wallaby Woo,” “Wiggle to the Laundromat” and “Skyscraper.”

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateJun 4, 2013
ISBN9781443428163
Alligator Pie
Author

Dennis Lee

DENNIS LEE is Toronto’s first Poet Laureate, an Officer of the Order of Canada and the author of timeless children’s collections such as Alligator Pie, Garbage Delight, Jelly Belly, Bubblegum Delicious and The Ice Cream Store. He has received many honours for his body of work, including the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature. He is also an acclaimed writer of poetry for adults. His work is anthologized and read around the world.

Read more from Dennis Lee

Related to Alligator Pie

Related ebooks

Children's Poetry For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Alligator Pie

Rating: 4.24375 out of 5 stars
4/5

80 ratings10 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Cute book of poems aimed at kids...fun but not something I would reread.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Funny monochromatic and colorful illustrations to accompany poetry with short verses and rhymes, entertaining for young children. Great for a lively storytime session to make kids laugh.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Alligator Pie won the Book of the Year award from the Canadian Library Association in 1975.Nonsensical rhyming fun for kids, the poetry of Alligator pie does not worry about imparting a lesson or moral, its only focus is on entertainment. Silly poems that are as much fun to say as they are to hear abound within this quirky collection of bizarre and funny tales. Truly Alligator pie has stood the test of time and its poems are as much fun for the kids of today as they were for us as the children of yesteryear.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My husband has had this book since he was a child. We found it a couple of years ago and read the poems to our kids quite regularly. They love all the silly lyrics, but especially Alligator Pie, In Kamloops (we live near Kamloops), Willoughby Wallaby Woo, and The Hockey Game.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Funny monochromatic and colorful illustrations to accompany poetry with short verses and rhymes, entertaining for young children. Great for a lively storytime session to make kids laugh.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a very funny poetry book that children love. The poem is about a person that loves Alligator Pie. Its a short read but has lots of ryhming and also is an easy read. The teacher can use this book in a poetry unit or just for a fun quick read. the students could color a picture from a line in the book or simply draw and color a alligator. the students could also make up there own funny poem.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    First published in 1974, and now re-released in a hardcover collector's edition more than 30 years later, "Alligator Pie" endures as good, silly fun for kids. There is a range of material in this book, from short nursery rhymes for young children, to longer poems for the older ones. Many make reference to Canadian cities and places, as well as historical figures like William Lyon Mackenzie King, and cultural icons such as the RCMP. All are silly, entertaining, and fun to read.The illustrations by award winning artist Frank Neufeld are beautiful. Full of detail, they are as much fun to look at as the poems are to read. Dennis Lee won the 1974 Book of the Year for Children award from the Association of Children's Librarians for this work, and in 2001 became Toronto's first Poet Laureate. He has authored more than 20 books of poetry, 10 of them for children.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I'm American, so I wasn't familiar with this Canadian classic previously. But it is great. The poems are interesting and funny, and my son and daughter enjoyed hearing them even when they were only a few months old. And they are interesting enough it's not painful to read over and over as a grown up.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved this a child, but it's trippy artwork is somewhat dated and my own (American) kids don't understand the Canadian references. Has great nostaglia value however.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A Canadian classic, with poems for children to skip to, bounce to, invent new verses to... Some longer stories of every-day childhood with a humourous twist. Many are easy to learn off by heart, and many are parodies of traditional Mother Goose rhymes or A.A. Milne poems, updated and made relevant for modern city kids. Some Canadian place names and other references. A favourite from my childhood, now much loved by our own children.

Book preview

Alligator Pie - Dennis Lee

Alligator Pie

Alligator pie, alligator pie,

If I don’t get some I think I’m gonna die.

Give away the green grass, give away the sky,

But don’t give away my alligator pie.

Alligator stew, alligator stew,

If I don’t get some I don’t know what I’ll do.

Give away my furry hat, give away my shoe,

But don’t give away my alligator stew.

Alligator soup, alligator soup,

If I don’t get some I think I’m gonna droop.

Give away my hockey-stick, give away my hoop,

But don’t give away my alligator soup.

Wiggle to the Laundromat

Wiggle to the laundromat,

Waggle to the sea;

Skip to Casa Loma

And you can’t catch me!

Singa Songa

Singa songa sea

I’ve got you by the knee.

Singa songa sand

I’ve got you by the hand.

Singa songa snail

I’ve got you by the tail.

Singa songa seat

And it’s time to eat!

Bouncing Song

Hambone, jawbone, mulligatawney stew,

Pork chop, lamb chop, cold homebrew.

Licorice sticks and popsicles, ice cream pie:

Strawberry, chocolate, vanilla!!!

Street Song

Sidewalk,

Hippity hop,

Step on a crack

Or you can’t come back.

Skippity one,

Skippity two,

Wait for the mailman

And kick off your shoe.

Mumbo, Jumbo

Mumbo Jumbo

Christopher Colombo

I’m sitting on the sidewalk

Chewing bubble gumbo.

I think I’ll catch

Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1