Booktastic!

This huge collection (70+ verses) contains funny poems and quite poignant ones too.

Some poems, were great for reading out aloud but Sad Kisses (“You shout at one another, then you hit one another”) was a bit dark after the literary slapstick of “Runny Egg” (“Catch me if you’re able, so I nailed it to the table”).

It did occur to me that both the language and the situations were a little out-dated (this book was originally printed in 1990).  For example, in Rebellion on the Catwalk (the fur coats and leather trousers decide to walk out of the show), I’m not sure that the children laughing over the line “I feel silly and chilly! I’ve only my hat left to cover my willy!” would know what an “usherette” was (“in a nice cotton dress who said, ‘I couldn’t care less – killing for fashion is cruel.‘”).

A varied collection with something for everyone with wonderful illustrations by Chris Riddell.