Wild in the Streets: 20 Poems of City Animals

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

Marilyn Singer is a multi-award-winning children’s author who has written many books, spanning poetry, picture books, fiction, and non-fiction. Her awards include the 2015 NCTE Award for Excellence in poetry, the Cybil Award for Poetry 2011, and several Children’s Choice and Parents’ Choice Awards, among others. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.