Wild in the Streets

Book excerpt: This beautifully illustrated book pairs poetry with nonfiction, telling the fascinating stories of the animals who have found homes in our city landscapes across the world, from the pythons traveling Singapore's sewers to the monkeys living in India's temples. Humans may have built towns and cities, but we aren't the only ones who live in them. Given the smallest chance--a park, a garden, a window box; a basement, a subway tunnel, a bridge--wildlife manages to survive in the city. Among colorful illustrated pages buzzing with city life and animal activity, you'll discover the host of wild animals who live among humans: butterflies, bats, spiders, honeybees, coyotes, and more. Each animal's story is told through a short poem accompanied by an informational paragraph. Some poems are comical, some poignant, and all make the reader see the world in a different way. After a rousing exploration of animal life, find definitions of the various types of poetry forms used in the book: haiku, cinquain, sonnet, terza rima, villanelle, triolet, reverso, acrostic, and free verse. Look around--you may discover neighbors you didn't know you had!