The seagulls squawk into the sky
Aark! Aark!
Aark! Aark!
Daisy barks behind my legs
Yip! Yip! Yip!
and Ben squeals
Eeeeeeeee!
when we see the
enormous
green
crocodile kite.
© Kristin Martin 2017
This poem also appears on the website Australian Children’s Poetry as a Poem of the Day, and in my poetry book, To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme (Glimmer Press, 2019).
Hi Kristin
I like the weird spacing you used between the words and also I like the onomatopoeia that you used in the poem.
thanks Nuwin!
HI Kristin I really liked it
Thanks Malikai!
Hi Kristin,
Did you really see a crocodile kite at the beach? And I like this poem because you put the animal sounds there!
Hi Caleb,
Yes, I did see a crocodile kite at the beach. It was at the Semaphore Kite Festival.
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
Where did you get the name Ben from?? Is Ben your friend or something or is it just a name you thought would fit this poem??? Ben or no Ben I love this poem and I’m sure my brother will love it too!! Your poems are the best!!! Thank you for this amazing poem!!!
Clara ❤️
Hi Clara,
Ben is just a name I thought would fit the poem.
Sorry it took me so long to reply- we’ve been having our kitchen re-done so life has been a bit unsettled. Let me know if you get my replies to your comments, and if your brother does too.
Kristin
Kristin
I like how you put the sounds of the animals there. I felt like I could just hear them right now. Did you really see a crocodile kite? And if you did was it harmful?
Hi Sachin,
Thank you for your comment. I did see a crocodile kite at the beach once. It was huge, but it was quite safe.
Kristin
Hi Kristen
That poem was very surprising! It was funny that the crocodile was a kite! I once went to the beach called Semaphore to see the kite festival. There was a crocodile kite there to! Also did you know that there is 13 species of crocodile.
From Thinara
Hi Thinara,
That’s where I saw the crocodile kite that I wrote this poem about!
Kristin
Hi Kristin
Did you actually see a crocodile kite at the beach? I also like how your poem is so simple but so Effective.
Lithumi
Hi Lithumi,
I did! It was huge and green, but not at all scary.
Kristin
Hi Kristen,
I really like that you used noun groups to describe the crocodile kite!! It helps you understand the poem better.
Hi Gina,
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Kristin
Hi Kristin
the poem is so simple just how i like it. Did you squeal when you saw it. By the way did you actually see a crocodile kite. nice rhyming words.
Hi Senehas,
I did see a crocodile kite at Semaphore Kite Festival. I wasn’t with a dog though, and I don’t think I squealed.
Kristin
I Like that used sounds people use when scared✨.
They are funny, aren’t they?
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I really like this poem. A nice use of repetition.
Not too much, but not too little. I like how the repetition also rhymes with the text. If you don’t understand what I mean, Here is an example from your poem, “and Ben squeals Eeeeeeeee! when we see the enormous green crocodile kite.”
Tharusha
Hi Tharusha,
I like how much you think about my poems. Do you study poetry at school?
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I never thought the crocodile would be a kite.
🙂
Hi Kristen
I like that poem because I love flying kites.Also the most likely I would fly a kite is when I go to the Adelaide Kite festival at Semophore beach. Do you like flying your kite?
Hi Thinara,
I love the Adelaide Kite festival at Semaphore! That’s what I wrote this poem about! The kites are so beautiful.
I used to help my kids fly their kites. We haven’t flown any for a while.
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
I loved your poem and especially enjoyed the part where it turned out to be a kite instead of a real animal!
Thanks Ebony!
Hi
That was a really nice poem. I really liked it.I didn`t think it would be a kite I thought it was real.
Hi Erin,
Thanks for your comment. Have you ever seen a crocodile at the beach? I know there are crocodiles at the beach in NT.
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
I love your poem! I love the part where Ben goes ‘EEEEEEEEEEE’. This poem reminded me of a fun beach day I had.
I went to the beach last summer and made a crocodile with sand! My brother, mum and dad helped me made a gigantic croc! People were squealing when they saw our scary crocodile!
I enjoyed this poem very much!
Darius
Hi Darius,
Thank you for your lovely comment. Your crocodile at the beach sounds fantastic! I am so glad you enjoyed my poem.
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
I really like your poem, it was very funny I loved the sounding of the “Yip Yip Yip” and the “Eeeeeeee”.
It made me smile! Great Poem!
thanks
Ruby
Hi Ruby,
Thank you for your lovely comment. I’m glad it made you smile. Did you know that ‘yip yip yip’ and ‘eeee’ are called onomatopoeia?
Kristin
I really! liked it and at first I thought it was a real crocodile but when I read the end of the poem I laughed when I found out that it was just a kite. This reminded me of the time my dog started barking all of a sudden and his bark also sounds like “yip yip yip”.
Hi Kayden,
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. This poem was lots of fun to write. Could you write a poem about your dog? You could include all the different sounds he makes!
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
I loved that poem. At the start and when I saw the title I got a bit scared!
Hi Mikayla,
I’d be scared seeing a real crocodile at the beach too!
Kristin
Nice poem! I liked the use of repetition.
Thanks!
You are so good in making inquisition and scare and then clam with funny way. I like the style of your poems. Love it
Thanks!
Hi Kristin,
I was scary to read this because, I thought the poem was about a real crocodile at the beach. but it was really about a kite. And I think you can add more to this poem to make us more curious.
Thank You
Dinidu
Thanks Dinidu!
Hello Kristen! I thought that there was an actual crocodile on the beach but it turned out that it was a kite!
Hi Kristin,
this poem reminded me of when my sister was tricking me over and over again by saying there are sharks and stingrays in the beach we go to when they weren’t. I think you could add more words.
Kind regards Tirath
cool poem I like the picture of the crocodile because it is wearing sunscreen.
From Lysha
cool poem I like the picture of the crocodile because it is wearing sunscreen.
From Lysha
Hi Lysha,
It does look like it is wearing sunscreen. I hadn’t realised that!
Kristin
At first I thought it was an actual croc on the beach because they sometimes are found on beaches.
-Thisama
Hi Thisama,
That’s what I wanted you to think!
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I like your poem because it is so simple and straightforward.
Tharusha
Hi Kristin
I really like this poem. A nice use of repetition.
Not too much, but not too little. I like how the repetition also rhymes with the text. If you don’t understand what I mean, Here is an example from your poem, “and Ben squeals Eeeeeeeee! when we see the enormous green crocodile kite.”
Tharusha
Hi Tharusha,
I like your comment, because it made me think more about my poem. I looked up the word for what you described and it’s called assonance- it’s when the vowels within words rhyme, but the words don’t rhyme because they have different endings. I hadn’t noticed that I had all those ee sounds in my poem! Thank you!
Kristin
Hi Kristen I love flying kites at the beach its fun and I can have a swim after if I get hot.
Cadence K
Hi Cadence,
I think the beach is the best place to fly a kite (it’s also a good place to swim!).
Kristin
Hi Kristin
what happened when you saw a Crocodile kite?
Hi Methuli,
I didn’t really see a crocodile kite. I wrote the poem using my imagination.
Kristin
So simple, I like it how do you do it?
Tharinsa
You could write a poem like this. It’s fun playing around with words.
Kristin