Vanilla Gorilla

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University in Kingston.

The 16 poems in this collection appear in a variety of poetic
structures, including free verse, limerick, rhyming schemes, and haiku.
Some poems, such as “In Moose Jaw When It’s Quiet,” “Mackerel
Mockery Pickerel Pike,” and “Grandma Dances Anagrams,” include
Canadian references. Other poems focus on such topics as pandas, an
anaconda, an only child, and dinosaur bones. Generally the poems are
silly; but many are nonsensical and do not engage the reader.

The strength of this book lies in Vivian Bevis’s artwork. Several of
her illustrations appear on each page; these illustrations not only
complement and extend the content of the poems, but are also much more
amusing than the poems. Not recommended.