it came today to visit and moved into the house it was smaller than an elephant but larger than a mouse first it slapped my sister then it kicked my dad then it pushed my mother oh! that really made me mad it went and tickled rover and terrified the cat it sliced apart my necktie and rudely crushed my hat it smeared my head with honey and filled the tub with rocks and when i yelled in anger it stole my shoes and socks that’s just the way it happened it happened all today before it bowed politely and softly went away
From The Queen of Eene (Greenwillow, 1974). Copyright © 1974 by Jack Prelutsky. Used with permission.
I am Super Samson Simpson, I'm superlatively strong, I like to carry elephants, I do it all day long, I pick up half a dozen and hoist them in the air, it's really somewhat simple, for I have strength to spare. My muscles are enormous, they bulge from top to toe, and when I carry elephants, they ripple to and fro, but I am not the strongest in the Simpson family, for when I carry elephants, my grandma carries me.
From Something BIG Has Been Here, published by Greenwillow, 1990. Used with permission.
“My stomach’s full of butterflies!” lamented Dora Diller. Her mother sighed. “That’s no surprise, you ate a caterpillar!”
From The New Kid on the Block, published by Greenwillow, 1984. Used with permission.
Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.
Imagine if your precious nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you’d be forced to smell your feet.
Your nose would be a source of dread
were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.
Within your ear, your nose would be
an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.
Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place—
be glad your nose is on your face!
From The New Kid on the Block, published by Greenwillow, 1984. Used with permission.
Last night I dreamed of chickens,
there were chickens everywhere,
they were standing on my stomach,
they were nesting in my hair,
they were pecking at my pillow,
they were hopping on my head,
they were ruffling up their feathers
as they raced about my bed.
They were on the chairs and tables,
they were on the chandeliers,
they were roosting in the corners,
they were clucking in my ears,
there were chickens, chickens, chickens
for as far as I could see...
when I woke today, I noticed
there were eggs on top of me.
From Something BIG Has Been Here, published by Greenwillow, 1990. Used with permission.