"The Catfish" A Poem by Jack Prelutsky

For my second poem entry, I chose "The Catfish" by Jack Prelutsky, from his poem collection The Sheriff of Rottenshot, which is illustrated by Victoria Chess. The book features a collection of interesting and hilarious characters and well written poems.

"The Catfish"

The catfish, far more fish than cat,

prefers a fishy habitat,

it swims about beneath a stream

and does not care for milk and cream.

The catfish can't meow or purr

and features neither claws or fur.

It has only one simple wish,

and that's to catch a rare mousefish (Jack Prelutsky, 1982, pg. 24).

The poem is very descriptive and creatively describes a catfish who is obviously not a furry cat but even as it is a fish, it would love to capture a "mousefish" which clearly does not exist. With its rhyme and rhythm, the verses are appealing to the senses and ear (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 13). Prelutsky uses proper word patterns like "milk and cream" to rhyme with stream, which is "...central to creating a poem, and delight in poetry is heightened when we notice how word order, the sound and connotations of the words arranged in a particular way, affects meaning" (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 153). 

The illustrator, Victoria Chess used black pen to draw the pictures for the book, illustrating it in a comic, cartoon manner by creating a smiling catfish dreaming of a mousefish that looks exactly like it sounds, leaving the imagery completely in-tune with the poem itself. There are no background or colors to the illustrations, leaving it clean and simple to the eye. 

I would recommend children to write a new chapter or verse for a motivational activity. Children could write additional verses to the poem (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 351), allowing the catfish to catch the mousefish, or find himself on a related adventure. Second activity I would recommend for this poem would be a present for the catfish character. The children could create it in 3D and then write a short essay to explain why they would give the catfish this particular present (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 351).

I would recommend the book The Sheriff of Rottenshot to all readers that enjoy silly, creative; and shorter poetry. 

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cenage Learning.

Prelutsky, J. (1982). The Sheriff of Rottenshot. New York: Mulberry Books.