My First Best Friend

By Jack Prelutsky b. 1940 Jack Prelutsky

My first best friend is Awful Ann—

she socked me in the eye.

My second best is Sneaky Sam—

he tried to swipe my pie.

My third best friend is Max the Rat—

he trampled on my toes.

My fourth best friend is Nasty Nell—

She almost broke my nose.

My fifth best friend is Ted the Toad—

he kicked me in the knee.

My sixth best friend is Grumpy Gail—

she's always mean to me.

My seventh best is Monster Moe—

he often plays too rough.

That's all the friends I've got right now—

I think I've got enough.

Text © 2000 Jack Prelutsky. Used by Permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

Source: It's Raining Pigs and Noodles (HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 2000)

Biography

Jack Prelutsky is a creator of inventive poems for children and adults alike. He served as the Poetry Foundation’s Children’s Poet Laureate from 2006 to 2008. Prelutsky grew up in the Bronx, and when he was young he studied classical music; though he gave up pursuing a career as an opera singer to concentrate on writing, he continues to sing.

In a Scholastic.com interview, when asked where his ideas come from, Prelutsky said, . . .

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