Product Description

Georgie Spider catches flies but never eats the little guys. Instead he cooks them up in pies. He doesn't use the legs or eyes or any artificial dyes . . . Not far from a greenish town, the Bathtub Driver is selling cut-rate imported shampoo. Georgie Spider serves up award-winning pies, while overhead on Highwire 66 there's a small problem causing an acrobat traffic jam. Ed's funny smell, Eliza's special jacket - they're all part of the picture in Polkabats and Octopus Slacks, fourteen stories about pesky snails, sleeping fruit, and one funky snowman. In the tradition of Edward Lear, Calef Brown has fashioned fourteen nonsense poems so zany that both young and old will be unable to suppress their laughter. Brown's invented words and sounds and their visual counterparts create both an audible and a visual feast. This is the kind of silliness children relish.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61170 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Amazon.com
Author and illustrator Calef Brown is a blue elephant, we're told on the back flap of the book, and we half-believe it, judging from this exuberant, unforgettable collection of 14 ultra-hip rhyming stories about everything from sleeping fruit to a funky--and we mean funky--snowman. In comical folk-art paintings, bathed in truly delicious colors, we meet Ed. "Introducing Ed, / with cherries on his head. / He says, 'I like the color,' / So all his stuff is red..." One odd hamlet is described like this: "Clementown is greenish, / the people tall and leanish, / the dogs bark very loudish, / but not because they're meanish." Brown sings the praises of "Snails" as well: "...they don't make threats, / they don't eat meat, / they don't place bets, / they almost always pay their debts / and never puff on cigarettes." These poems are as nonsensical as Edward Lear's, but clearly for modern hipster kids, and, well, adults, too. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustrations © 1998 by Calef Brown.) (All ages) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
HWith ebullient Dixieland/ragtime jazz as accompaniment, Pinkwater, children's book author and radio personality, gleefully performs Brown's 14 hip and funny story-poems. An on-air rave about this book by Pinkwater during his children's book segment on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday back in 1998 helped put the title on the map (and obviously gave Pinkwater an edge when it came time to cast this audio production). Listeners can't help hearing Pinkwater's clear appreciation of the silly subject matter; at times he seems on the verge of giggling, reading lines like "Funky Snowman loves to dance./ You'd think he wouldn't have much chance/ without two legs/ or even pants.... Kick it, Funky Snowman!" Out-of-the-ordinary images abound, from a "tightrope traffic jam" of circus performers on Highwire 66 to the Bathtub Driver and his three-legged duck and Georgie Spider, pie baker extraordinaire. A great title for National Poetry Month, or any time. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-4AWhile the title advertises 14 stories, this is actually a collection of poems. The subjects range from a man with octopus legs in bell-bottom pants to skeleton flowers. While some of the poems may entertain upper-elementary children, some of the intended humor will puzzle young readers; for example, the bats have jury duty and the pants fit like apple pie. While the silliness may hold some appeal, the rhythms are forced ("The pockets all have numbers, numbers on the jacket pockets"), making them difficult to read aloud. Many of the quirky illustrations feature animals with human heads or people of unusual colors. This is not a selection for libraries with limited budgets.AMarty Abbott Goodman, L.J. Bell Elementary School, Rockingham, NC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

If reading were more fun it would be illegal
My daughter grabbed this book at the library and being some kind of reading- Nazi, I was hesitant. "Those don't look like OUR kind of illustrations," said the little censor in my head. But I let her toss it in the bag and I am so glad I did.
We read this nightly and after I've used up all our renewals on its checkout, I think I'll have to buy it. And one for my funky parents, one for my funky brother and sister-in-law and their funky new baby, etc etc.
The poems are so catchy and fun and this is one bedtime book you will not tire of reading (!!!). The illustrations are a perfect match for the incredibly vibrant world Brown paints with his words. I'm guaranteed thatif I call out, "Does that stop Funky Snowman?" my daughter, if she's within earshot will yell enthusiastically , "NO!" If she's not within earshot, my husband just looks at me like I'm an idiot.
Brown's poetry is wonderful nonsense and I look forward to getting my hands on Daniel Pinkwater's audio production of it.
Thank God for unbiased children.

My 5YO son's favorite books!
The two books of poems were given to us as gifts and now they are the books that my son always chooses first when we sit down to read. That's saying A LOT since he's usually only into dinosaurs, superheroes, and other macho things. But these poems are fun and silly and brilliant and the illustrations are crazy works of art.

My son's favorite book!
My son, age two, received this book for Christmas last year. He loves it! We read it almost everyday. His favorites are Polka Bats, Snails, Ed and Eliza's Jacket. Calef Brown is a very unique and funny poet. The poems are upbeat and fun to recite. My family and I find ourselves reciting various lines at the simple mention of a trigger word..such as "pocket". I just bought my son his second Calef Brown book, Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers. So, grab this book and some chocolate pudding, remember check your house for those "pesky snails" and "kick it" with the "funky snowman"!!