The Llama Who Had No Pajama Review

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Hoberman, Mary Ann. 1998. The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems. Ill. by Betty Fraser. San Diego: Browndeer Press. ISBN: 0-15-2000111-5.

The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems is an anthology of 100 poems ranging in topic from birthdays to families to animals of every size to insects and more. The style and complexity of poems is also varied offering a nice introduction to poetry for people of all ages while having plenty to satisfy an experienced reader as well.. Some pages showcase one poem while others offer three or four, but the layout is appealing to the eye, regardless of the number.Some of the poems are simply silly while others offer interesting facts about the animals and insects in the world. For example, compare the following two poems :

The Folk Who Live in Backward Town

The folk who live in Backward Town
Are inside out and upside down.
They wear their hats inside their heads
And go to sleep beneath their beds.
They only eat the apple peeling
And take their walks across the ceiling.

Praying Mantis

That praying mantis over there
Is really not engaged in prayer.
That praying mantis that you see
Is really preying (with an e).
It preys upon the garden snake.
It preys upon the bumblebee.
It preys upon the cabbage worm, 
The wasp, the fly, the moth, the flea.
(And sometimes, if its need is great,
It even preys upon its mate.)

With prey and preying both so endless,
It tends to end up rather friendless
And seldom is commended much
Except by gardeners and such.

Betty Fraser's gouache and watercolor illustrations are a lovely complement to Hoberman's verse with details that encourage readers to study the page, taking their time to fully explore the childhood experiences captured there. The book offers an index of first lines to assist readers in returning to favorites upon further readings. 

Mary Ann Hoberman and Betty Fraser were awarded the American Book Award for A House is a House for Me. The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems was named the Gold Award Winner in 1998 by National Parenting Publications and on Child Magazine's Best Books of the Year. Mary Ann Hoberman received the  Children's Poet Laureate award in October 2008 and served in that capacity for two years.

"Hoberman's rhythms are lively and agile, and her imagination and sense of humor are still in tune with young readers. Fraser's simple but detailed gouache and watercolor illustrations exhibit the same qualities . . . Good for beginning or experienced readers of poetry, this should indeed become a favorite."--School Library Journal

"This collection of some forty years of Hoberman verse is a charmer."--The Horn Book

When I read the first stanza of the poem the title of the anthology references, The Llama Who Had No Pajama, I knew I would have to pair it with Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama books. The picture it conjures is a wonderful match:

The llama who had no pajama
Was troubled and terribly sad
When it became known that he had outgrown
Every pair of pajamas he had;
And he tearfully said to his mama
In a voice that was deep with despair:
O llamaly mama
I need a pajama
Or what in the world will I wear?
Or what in the world,
In the wumberly world,
In the wumberly world will I wear?

I believe the children in my story time will enjoy this poem very much and a silly conversation about llamas and pajamas is sure to ensue!

The variety of poetry showcased also makes this book an excellent choice for further study of poetry styles, rhyme, and the natural world. 

Amazon. Editorial reviews. http://www.amazon.com/The-Llama-Who-Had-Pajama/dp/product-description/0152055711/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books. (Accessed September 30, 2013.)

Hoberman, Mary Ann. http://www.maryannhoberman.com. (Accessed September 30, 2013.)