Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tickle Your Tongue
By Jon Agee
(ages 5 and up)
If you like tongue twisters, then this is the book for you! I stumbled my way through several of these, such as "Walter Witter called a waiter: "Waiter, over here! I want some water, waiter. Water, waiter! Is that clear?" Each poem is silly and the illustrations with their bold outlines perfectly match them. You're guaranteed a silly read with this one!
The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse
By J. Patrick Lewis
(ages 7 and up)
Have you ever thought about what you'd like to be when you grow up? Maybe you haven't made your mind up yet. If so, check out this book of poems for some interesting job possibilities. There's jobs you've heard of like an auto mechanic and butcher. And then there are some wacky jobs, like a dictionary maker and banana picker. There's even a poem about me, the Librarian (well, not me, specifically, but it could be about me) and it says "No one has more fun than I!" So true! One of my favorite silly poems is about the Exterminator - "I come to de-bug what's under de rug." There's a job poem in this book for everyone!
A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems
By Deborah Ruddell; Illustrated by Joan Rankin(ages 4 and up)
Aaahhh...nature. Nothing smells quite as good as when you go outside and take in a deep breath of fresh air. Let's hope Pepe LePew isn't out and about stinking up the air! As the title states, these poems celebrate all the different aspects of nature and the animals that inhabit the forest. What's really fun about the format of the poems is they start at spring with everything waking up and finish with winter. One of my favorites is "Biography of a Beaver" - "Bucktoothed Cleaver/Tree Retriever/Building Conceiver/True Believer/Waterproof Weaver/Overachiever/Roll-Up-Her-Sleever-/Hooray for the Beaver!" If you enjoy the outdoors, you'll really like these poems!
