The Camel's Lament

Great kids book. I love Charles Edwards Carral. His poems flow so nicely that it is fun to read. I still remember one of his poems that I memorized in the fifth grade.

The rolling rhyme, the outstandingly detailed pictures make this a sure hit for first and second graders. Big print, great vocabulary and variety of viewpoints enhance its usefulness. Like Lois Ehlert books, and Ruth Heller's titles, this will be in use for years and years. Team it with Mary Ann Hoberman's A HOUSE IS A HOUSE FOR ME and you've got a nicely linked literature cluster to encourage young readers to love poetry.

My almost 3 year old daughter picked this book out of a display and asks us to read it again and again. Award winning artist Charles Santore illustrates a nonesense poem by Charles Edward Carryl. The large, detailed and colorful illustrations of animals with expressive droll faces attract and hold my toddler's attention. You can see what I mean by looking at the sample pages. The poem reminds me of Edward Lear and is of the same 19th century vintage. And Charles Carryl was hailed as the "American Lewis Carroll". My favourite verse is "People would laugh if you rode a giraffe, or mounted the back of ox; it's nobody's habit to ride on a rabbit or try to bestraddle a fox. But as for a camel, he's ridden by families - any load does for me!" The 4-8 designation may be because the words are nice and large and pretty simple for a child who's learning to read. However some of the words like "bestraddle" and "repose" are not part of our everyday language anymore, so I'd say it's more for the preschool pre-reading set. Its large size also makes it more suited for adults to handle than children to read on their own.

Charles Edward Carryl, 1841 to 1920, was a writer of nonsense rhymes and verse in the tradition of Lewis Carroll. Award winning artist, Charles Santore, brings to life this little known poem. The burdened life of a camel is drollfully compared to the lives of other domesticated animals. "Cats, you're aware, can repose in a chair, chickens can roost upon rails, puppies are able to sllep in a stable, and oysters can slumber in pails. But no one supposes a poor camel dozes - anyplace does for me!" The meticulous details and expressive eyes of the camel add to the humorous tone of the book. Large detailed images and lilting language make this a superb lap sit or read aloud book.