This one just wasn’t for me. Aside from the final poem, “Lady, Lady,” I didn’t enjoy the collection.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is broken up into sections, and each section has poems about it. For example, there is a section about moms and dad’s that reflect the day-to-day life of living with adults, and there is a section about questions, where the poems are about questions children may ask. The author did an excellent job in creating poems that children could relate to. In some of the works, the author talks about who decided that roses are flowers and dandelions are weeds, or who decided that burping was rude. In another example, the author talks about things that shouldn’t exist, such as getting cavities and liver for supper. All of these poems expertly give a look into the world of children. There are no existential topics such as death or love, but rather topics that actually affect children and their day to day life.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone, not just children. Again, I really felt like the author got inspiration from Shel Silverstein. The poems were tailored to children and their everyday life, I felt like a child again reading them. They aren’t overbearing or sad, they merely discuss the inconveniences children experience. Who doesn’t wish they could talk about their mother’s infamous cooking skills, or having to apologize when they didn’t mean it? These are things children are learning about and living through, and it really does an excellent job of connecting with children on their level. Overall a wonderfully written book, with beautiful, minimal illustrations to complete it.

This book is great for children to read with their parents. It encourages the child to be silly and funny while learning something at the same time. I would definitly read these poems to my children at home.

"Knock Knock"

Knock, knock who's there?
someone with sad underware.
sad underwear?
how can that be?
When my bestfriends mad at me,
everything is sad.
Even my underwear.

This book consists of about 45 poems - some humorous, some contemplative, some thought-provoking, some silly - divided among 10 sections:
questions; world of wonders; knock knocks; fairy tales; stuff you should know; pals and pests; adventures; moms and dads; special requests; when I grow up.

I don't know whether it's just because Shel Silverstein was my major introduction to poetry, but it feels like Viorst is trying to copy him, but not as well. More like looking back at childhood than living in it.

Note: p. 50 is about "the sad fat boy." sigh.


The last line of the poem "What Dads Do" took me out though: "I wish I still had one."

Genre: Poetry
Grade Level: 3-4
Awards: None

How to use in a classroom:
This book of poems shows all the different problems even the youngest of children encounter. Problems with friends, problems with children of the opposite sex. Reading this poems out loud will help the students see that all students go through problems like these. As a follow-up activity I would have the children discuss what kinds of ways they think are ideal for dealing with some of these problems.

That was fun (and the title is great).

This clever title is enough to intrigue a child. The contents are just as clever as the title. This books main purpose is to lament the struggles of a child but add humour to the situation. The poems are simple and they rhyme so the children are able to predict what amusing word will complete the sentence. It's good to have in a classroom because there are a range of relevant scenarios in the book the children could be experiencing. One poem could be chosen to open a discussion afterwards to tackle the issue. I found that the book works well when discussing relationships and emotions with the children. It can be used as a sensitive approach to much larger issues faced in children’s day to day lives.

This book is a collection of poems about questions children might have, world of wonders, knock knock jokes, fairy tales, stuff you should know, pals and pets, adventures, moms and dads, special requests and growing up. These poems talk about things that would make students laugh and discuss topics that can be scary for children, for example going to the dentist or the first day of school. I would use this book in my classroom to help children not be afraid of certain things and to make them feel a little more comfortable about. I would also use them to help lighten the mood after doing something stressful.

The long lines sometimes drove me a little crazy, but mostly, I just wanted to hug the imaginary kids.

This is a fun book of poems - and it truly is for both children and parents, as it tackles a wide range of topics and includes short and long poems, rhyming and non-rhyming ones. I found this book in the midst of reading other poetry books by Judith Viorst and I was happy to share this one with our girls. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

Very, very funny.