Dinner is Served.
What in nature could be more poetic than the hunt for food and the
struggle for survival? In twenty-nine poems readers will squirm at the
realities of how the animal world catches food, eats it, and becomes
dinner in turn. In these quirky poems readers are introduced to many
animals with disgusting eating habits, such as the marabou stork that
lurks on the periphery, like a vampire in the shadows, waiting for a
chance to pick at a rotting carcass. The dermestid beetle does not mind
doing the dirty work, cleaning up animals on the road side and often
made busy at museums cleaning up bones for exhibits. And, baby wasps
hatch inside an unsuspecting caterpillar and eat their way out.
Gross, cool, and extremely funny, David Clark's illustrations get to the
heart (and skin and guts) of the food chain and the web of life,
depicting the animal world at dinner time in all its gory glory. Back
matter includes further information about the animals in the poems and
the scientific terms used.