Polkabats and Octopus Slacks: 14 Stories [Hardcover]

Calef Brown (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395854032
• ISBN-13: 978-0395854037
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Calef Brown began his career as a tour guide at an early age, when he discovered the simple joy of pointing things out. He is also an artist, writer, and frequently a blue elephant. Mr. Brown's illustrations have appeared in many magazines and newspapers, and his paintings have been exhibited in N.Y., L.A., S.F., and other places without fancy initials, like Osaka and Rome. He lives in Maine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully fun book!, October 29, 2007

By 

David Eshaghpour "evilelvis8" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polkabats and Octopus Slacks: 14 Stories (Paperback)

I heard Daniel Pinkwater and Scott Simon review this book and read it together on NPR years ago and I simply had to have it. I have subesequently bought all of Mr. Brown's other books. Delightful and entertaining. My 3 year old loves them all.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll fight with your kids over who gets to read this book!, September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Polkabats and Octopus Slacks: 14 Stories (Hardcover)

Anytime I look for a new book for my daughter, I always try to find something that I'll like too--because if she likes it, you know I'll be reading it to her several hundred times! Thankfully, "Polkabats and Octopus Slacks" is one of those books.

I don't know what I like more...the folk-art illustrations or the silly poems. Calef Brown captures the whimsy of Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends," with poems that are easy to memorize and fun to recite. This book became a bedtime favorite at our house in record time!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Endlessly Entertaining!, September 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Polkabats and Octopus Slacks: 14 Stories (Hardcover)

I am a third year college student and recently celebrated by 19th birthday. When my good friend handed me my gift and I tore apart the colorful wrapping paper to find an even more colorful children's book, I was surprised to say the least. A children's book called Polkabats and Octopus Slacks is not your typical birthday present for a 19 year old. However, I'd have to say it is the best gift I've received, possibly for any of my birthdays. It has offered endless enjoyment... a silly stress-reliever for myself as well as a great entertainment device for visitors. The vibrantly colored illustrations are unique and each time you look through the book, you find more and more interesting details about each illustration. My favorite poems are Kansas City Octopus, Ed, Funky Snowman, and Polkabats. This will certainly remain on my list of all-time favorite books, and will be passed down to my children and theirs. Silly children's books... one of life's most simple, wonderful pleasures.