Laugh-eteria: Poems and Drawings

by Douglas Florian, Douglas Florian (Illustrator)

Overview

This book is bound
To pick you up.
To give a little lift.
If you take half
A change you’ll laugh.
We know you won’t be miffed.
So find a home
Inside a poem.
Take off your shoes and sit
And if you smile
Once in a while,
We won’t mind it one bit!
 
“Sure to draw fans of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky . . . [These poems] provoke laughter while playfully manipulating language to capture the comical essence of things and events in a child’s world.”—School of Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141309903
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/23/2000
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	387,918
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.42(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Douglas Florian is the author-illustrator of many books of poetry for middle and younger readers, including Boing-Boing, Insectlopedia, and Poem Depot: Aisles of Smiles. He lives in New York City.

What People are Saying About This

"This clever collection of light verse . . . is sure to draw fans of Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, and other purveyors of nonsense."—School Library Journal"Goofy and clever and playful . . . A perfect book for any young reader who wants a laugh."—Paul B. Janeczko, author of A Poke in the I

Editorial Reviews

"The poems in this book/ Are meant to be humorous.They poke fun at the everyday ("Our school lunch is from outer space,/ Endangering the human race") and the imaginary ("Hello, my name is Dracula./ My clothing is all blackula./... /At dawn I hit the sackula./ Tomorrow I'll be backula!"). Florian repeatedly shows that he knows what makes kids giggle."—Publishers Weekly

"Kids will find plenty to chuckle over in Douglas Florian's punchline-rich Laugh-eteria, his seventh poetry offering after walloping successes like Bing Bang Boing and Insectlopedia. Florian fans will enjoy the punster's groan-worthy wordplay, and kids will no doubt relish the rampant silliness that's strangely akin to their own."—Amazon.com

From the Publisher

Zany, exuberant verse from the poet-artist whose creations will entice even a reluctant reader across the threshold to poetry.
— Smithsonian's (Notable Books for Children, 1999)

Kathleen Burke

Gr 2-6This clever collection of light verse, illustrated with childlike brush-and-ink drawings, is sure to draw fans of Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, and other purveyors of nonsense. Favorite topics of humorous poetrymonsters, dinosaurs, disgusting foods and overeating, animals, school, and strange peopleall inhabit this volume. Most of the brief poems contain a wry twist, a terrible pun, an interesting bit of wordplay, or a small allusion that enriches their meanings. Beginning with Test Poem, Florian sprinkles the collection with selections about reading and writing poetry, including one titled Bad Poem that offers suggestions about what should happen to verse of this sort. As in On the Wing (1996) and Insectlopedia (1998, both Harcourt), a number of the selections contain lists of characteristics that may provide young writers with ideas for their own descriptive poems. While there is an occasional contrived rhyme or missed beat, most of these pieces provoke laughter while playfully manipulating language to capture the comical essence of things and events in a childs world.Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Florian's seventh collection of verse is also his most uneven; though the flair for clever rhyme that consistently lights up his other books, beginning with Monster Motel (1993), occasionally shows itself-"Hello, my name is Dracula/My clothing is all blackula./I drive a Cadillacula./I am a maniacula"-too many of the entries are routine limericks, putdowns, character portraits, rhymed lists that fall flat on the ear, or quick quips: "It's hard to be anonymous/When you're a hippopotamus." Florian's language and simple, thick-lined cartoons illustrations are equally ingenuous, and he sticks to tried-and-true subjects, from dinosaurs to school lunch, but the well of inspiration seems dry; revisit his hilarious Bing Bang Boing (1994) instead. (index) (Poetry. 8-10) .

Kirkus Reviews