Limericks & Humorous Verse Books - Page 2

Cautionary Tales for Children

Edward Gorey, Hilaire Belloc

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Completing the Edward Gorey library 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

JIM, who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion.

It's small wonder that Edward Gorey chose to illustrate Belloc's verses, written nearly a century ago - in fact, they were such a clear and strong influence on his work, it's hard to believe he didn't write them himself. 'Cautionary Tales' is a literary work that was years ahead of its time, parodying the overtly-strict educational children's verses of the time with tales of children whose punishment is wholly disproportioned to their crime. Gorey's illustrations, published only after his death in 2000, complete the ghoulish verses with his trademark naïve and refined black and white crosshatching. Already in his seventies, Gorey has lost none of his charm and style and these illustrations are as nasty and sarcastic as anything he's done, perfectly complimenting the ironic text.

'Cautionary Tales' is the first work of Gorey's published after his death, and it's a perfect conclusion to his illustrious career, and one of his finest works. It's an essential to any fan of this great artist.

Editorial Review:

Known as a central figure in English literature, Hilaire Belloc produced a number of stunning, funny, and clever admonishments for children. The tales in this volume, illustrated by the inimitable Edward Gorey, contain instructive lessons for almost everyone.
For those children prone to wandering off from their caretakers, there is the story of a certain young Jim, "who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion." Those known to stretch the truth will hardly be comforted by the tale of Matilda, "who told lies and was burned to death." And as for those of us--and our children--who tend to the vainglorious, there is the sobering tale of Godolphin Horne, "who was cursed with the sin of pride and became a boot-black."
Witty, brilliant, and strikingly irreverent.

On Beyond Zebra! (Classic Seuss)

Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A frequently overlooked Seuss gem ! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was my favorite book as a kid & still is. I now have ownership of our family's 'ancient' copy (copyright date 1955, Mom's written inscription: Christmas 1962 for my oldest brother who was age 6). I recently read it to my 6 year old son and he also was taken with this book. I am getting a new copy for him for Christmas as the original is pretty fragile now. This book belongs in every family's collection along with The Lorax, The Sneeches, Bartholomew Cubbins, Horton and the rest of the classic/original Seuss stories.

Left quite an impression... 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Loved this book as a child. Fast-forward thirty-some years, I am a computational linguist with a fascination for exotic writing systems. Coincidence? In think not.

Altered perspectives for life 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book introduced "paradigm shifting" into my intellectual vocabulary before I even knew what such a thing was.

Many, many, many years ago (Nixon was President, I think) I read this and was changed. I can remember the the images, the textures, the smells (Ah! The ditto machine and its purple perfume!) and all my surroundings. I was sitting in the elementary school library, facing northwest toward the door. Lured by the title and the premise, I had taken the volume to my assigned seat ("Library" was a class back then, as it should have been) and quickly devoured it.

The concept - that our 26-letter alphabet was an arbitrary collection and not a universal constant on a par with gravity - had never entered my cartoon-addled mind. It sparked an awareness of similar cultural and philosophical constrictions that I have expanded and retained to this day.

Hats off to the Dr.!

Editorial Review:

Illus. in color.

Revolting Rhymes (Picture Puffins)

Roald Dahl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

What a Twist! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Dr Seuss is nothing in comparison to Roald Dahl in REVOLTING RHYMES. I actually had fun reading this book so did the kids I read it to. There are a few words I have to explain but it didn't take out the fun of the book. This book plays around with a few of the very known fairy tales known by kids and swing it around in an interesting parody.

The list of the fairy tales with a twist that are being fetaured in this book:

1. Cinderella
2. Jack & the Beanstalk
3. Snow Queen & the seven dwarfs
4. Goldilocks & the three bears
5. Little Red Riding Hood & the Wolf
6. The Three Little Pigs

The characters are hilarious and you will enjoy the different look of the old age fairy tales that you knew. So spread the word, buy a copy for yourself, read it to the children. Anyway, you won't regret this particular book.

Editorial Review:

A collection of comic and often gory versions of popular fairy tales. Meet Cinderella, a young woman who wants to marry a nice ordinary man; and Goldilocks, that house-breaker who gobbles up your porridge and then breaks up the Chippendale.

Miss Mary Mack

Mary Ann Hoberman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

So repetetive in print that it will drive your child to boredom 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I wanted to like this one. I really did. My son loves hand clap games and board books so it seemed like a natural fit. He just seemed to hate the repetition in this one. The sounds/words/rhythm are the same page in and page out and by page 5, he was acting like he does when I try to read a book to him a second time to avoid getting up to get another. (He's seen it before and he knows it.)

Bedtime Favorite 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My 2 1/2 year old daughter is in love with this hillarous illustrated book. We checked it out from the library and it has become her favorite. We read it two times before nap and again two times before bed. I even catch her reading to herself!I also like it because at the end of the book there are questions and ideas that focus on different areas such as rhyming. I know we will be purchasing this book before we have to take it back to the library.

Editorial Review:

An expanded adaptation of the familiar hand-clapping rhyme about a young girl and an elephant. Includes music and directions for the hand-clapping actions.

This Little Piggy Went to Prada: Nursery Rhymes for the Blahnik Brigade

Amy Allen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

For Fashionista Mommies 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Absolutly adorable and entertaining for moms and rhythmic for babies. It's definitly European lingo, but still great for us Americans!

Very, very disappointed 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This Little Piggy Went to Prada: Nursery Rhymes for the Blahnik Brigade
I was looking for books for my daughter to read to my 15 month old grandaughter, and saw this book. I read the reviews and knew it would be too advanced for my grandaughter but thought her mother would enjoy it. How wrong I was. I thought it would be some tonge-in-cheek version of nursery tales, but there was nothing amusing or funny about a rhyme that ends with the line "Time for Mummy to Detox". The other rhymes were OK but that one line negated any possible enjoyment in the book.

Editorial Review:

For the woman more accustomed to singing Missoni's praises than singing lullabies comes Amy Allen's irresistible This Little Piggy Went to Prada: Nursery Rhymes for the Blahnik Brigade. Filled from cover to cover with sumptuous full color illustrations by Eun-Kyung Kung, This Little Piggy Went to Prada presents classic nursery rhymes with a thoroughly modern and charmingly ironic spin that will make the most sleepless fashionista mom smile, even when she's knee-deep in diapers.

Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry For Your...Brains

Ryan Mecum

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Must-Have for your Zombie Collection 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

It never occurred to me to look for a zombie story in something other than novel form; this book was on display by a register when I purchasing some other books. I figured since The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead (guide form, obviously) and Day by Day Armageddon (A Zombie Novel) (journal form) worked for me, I would give zombie haikus a chance.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the haikus formed an actual story, instead of just being random haikus. Another bonus was the size of the book makes it easy to carry with me in my purse (gotta have zombie literature on me at all times).

(I haven't seen anything this original since my husband's monster truck haikus.) I was very impressed with the author's creativity. I look forward to more from this author.

Editorial Review:

What you are looking at is a document from the early days of the zombie plague. Little is known about the author before his infection--only that he was a poet. This facsimile of his actual journal recounts the events of humanity's darkest hours through the intimate poetry of haiku. Inside you'll find increasingly disjointed and terrifying three-line poems (all in the classic 5-7-5 syllable structure), and follow the undead poet on a journey through deserted streets and barricaded doors. Experience every eye-popping, gut-wrenching, flesh-eating moment of the eventual downfall of the human race from the point of view of a zombie, and gain insight to help you survive--if you can.

The ABC's of Happiness: Not for Children

Mark Yablonovich, Juliet Kaska

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Clever, witty and heartfelt all rolled into one great little book! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

If, like me, you prefer swallowing your "life lessons" coated with a little snarky humor, you will love this book. It's always good to be reminded of what's truly important and what we can do to live better lives, but there's a sea of self-help books out there taking themselves way too seriously. The ABC's of Happiness, on the other hand, manages to deliver it's message with the perfect combination of sarcasm & soul.

Laughter and learning 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

From beginning to end I laughed and learned from this book. It's a great idea as a Holiday gift.

fun and thought-provoking 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Really enjoyed this funny book a lot. A great stocking stuffer for a certain sort of friend, I think.

A Great Holiday Gift 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a perfect little book -- fun, funny and refreshing. Perfect for people into self-help and those who just want to have a good laugh.

A Rare Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I've seen lots of funny books and lots of useful books but never a combination like this. The serious part of the book is more fresh and insightful than most self-help books out there. The jokes are risque and funny and sophisticated. Overall, an extraordinary book and a great present.

Editorial Review:

"One of the funniest and most practical self-help books ever written!"

The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

Ambrose Bierce

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Gift 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book. The sarcasm and the definitions are the best. If you know someone who is a book lover or just enjoys quick wit-this book is for them. I bought two more just for gifts. It's one of those books that you can always pick up and find a smile...

A classic 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Still haven't found any real competitor for the Devils Dictionary.

Sheer honesty abounds. The insurance agent that came by my place rapidly deflated when I showed him the entry for "insurance" while (to his credit) acknowledged its veracity...

"an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table."

(followed by a vicious, fictitious and brilliant dialogue between an agent and perspective mark wherein said agent tries to overcome the mark's observation that by the agent's own actuarial tables a home owner without insurance would most likely save the full value of the house in premiums well before any loss... )

And that's just one of hundreds of essays. One of my intellectual heroes.

Editorial Review:

A virtual onslaught of acerbic, confrontational wordplay, this dictionary offers 1600 wickedly clever definitions to the vocabulary of everyday life. Little is sacred and few are safe, for Ambrose Bierce targets just about any pursuit, from matrimony to immortality, that allows our failings and excesses to shine forth. This is the most extensively annotated edition of a work by Bierce ever published, and the first edition of "The Devil's Dictionary" to provide detailed bibliographical information for every entry.

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

Adam Rex

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Adam Rex is a genius! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love this book. For the past two years, I've read it aloud to my elementary school library classes prior to Halloween. They beg for it. The poetry is so well syncopated, and the rhyming is near perfect. The humor is mature, so I have to explain many of the poems, but a lot of it the kids understand without explanation. They can really identify with the torment of having a song stuck in your mind that keeps going on and on, as happens to the poor Phantom of the Opera when he gets "It's a Small World After All" stuck in his head. And they understand why offering a toothpick to Count Dracula to pick his teeth makes him nervous because it resembles a sharp stake. I love this book so much that I bought it this year for my 54-year old brother for his birthday. Unlike the song "It's a Small World After All," the sophistication of these poems will keep them fresh for many, many, many Halloweens to come. If you're a poetry buff who appreciates a humorous twist on the classic scary characters, do NOT pass this book by.

Editorial Review:

Being a monster isn't all frightening villagers and sucking blood. Monsters have their trials, too. Poor Frankenstein's cupboard is bare, Wolfman is in need of some household help, and it's best not to get started on Dracula’s hygiene issues. What could be scarier?
    

Nineteen hilarious poems delve into the secret lives of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bigfoot, Godzilla, and others. In a range of styles that pay homage to everyone from Charles Schulz to John James Audubon, the monstrously talented Adam Rex uncovers horrific--and clever--truths you won't want to miss.

(08/01/2006)

I'm Too Young To Be Seventy: And Other Delusions

Judith Viorst

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The beloved bestselling author of Forever Fifty and Suddenly Sixty now tackles the ins and outs of becoming a septuagenarian with her usual wry good humor.

Fans of Judith Viorst's funny, touching, and wise poems about turning thirty, forty, fifty, and sixty will love this new volume for the woman who deeply believes she is too young to be seventy, "too young in my heart and my soul, if not in my thighs."

Viorst explores, among the many other issues of this stage of life, the state of our sex lives and teeth, how we can stay married though thermostatically incompatible, and the joys of grandparenthood and shopping. Readers will nod with rueful recognition when she asks, "Am I required to think of myself as a basically shallow woman because I feel better when my hair looks good?," when she presses a few helpful suggestions on her kids because "they may be middle aged, but they're still my children," and when she graciously -- but not too graciously -- selects her husband's next mate in a poem deliciously subtitled "If I Should Die Before I Wake, Here's the Wife You Next Should Take." Though Viorst acknowledges she is definitely not a good sport about the fact that she is mortal, her poems are full of the pleasures of life right now, helping us come to terms with the passage of time, encouraging us to keep trying to fix the world, and inviting us to consider "drinking wine, making love, laughing hard, caring hard, and learning a new trick or two as part of our job description at seventy."

I'm Too Young to Be Seventy is a joy to read and makes a heartwarming gift for anyone who has reached or is soon to reach that -- it's not so bad after all -- seventh decade.