The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse [Hardcover]

J. Patrick Lewis (Author), Serge Bloch (Illustrator)

Book Description

Have you ever talked at length with an exterminator?

Or had a heart-to-heart with an ice sculptor?

Or waxed philosophical with an acrobat?

No?

Well, look inside.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this handy guide/ (For children overqualified/ For boring jobs), Lewis (Doodle Dandies) and the sublime Bloch (Butterflies in My Stomach) catalogue some of the more esoteric professions. There's the crossword puzzle maker (I make up clues for/ 'Olive' (green), / 'Lentil or garbanzo' (bean) and the titular specialty haberdasher (You wear them briefly/ And in short,/ I sell them chiefly/ For support); the center spread salutes the marathon runner with a poem set into the map of a course. Lewis deserves applause for his sophisticated wordplay and his willingness to push readers in terms of poetic conceits: anyone who attempts to explain to kids what a philosopher does—in verse, no less—deserves a paean himself. It's a shame, then, that poems that start out so promisingly often run out of steam and wrap up with weak jokes (a pet groomer bemoans a customer who forgets toupee; a plumber works in Inside The Twoilet zone). Bloch's wonderful digital collages save the day: his signature combination of piquant ink doodles and witty found objects lends elegant playfulness to every page. Ages 7–10. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Puns are everywhere in this playful, rhyming survey of jobs, and the collage illustrations extend the verbal fun with wry, literal images, from the butcher named Sloppy Joe to an underwear salesman, whose sales pitch includes instructions to wear his garments “briefly.” The sounds of the words will appeal to grade-schoolers, and so will the visuals, from the double-page spread of the marathon runner in the city streets (“Motivation / Perspiration / Long duration”) to the view of the subway driver as “a sixty-mile-an-hour mole” who worms his way underground. Then there is the fancy gymnast who tries for a triple-handspring somersault and ends up “very horizontal.” Kids will get the message that comes from these scenes of adults at work: grown-up life is fun, sometimes, but there is “no need to hurry” to get there. Grades 2-5. --Hazel Rochman

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689853254
• ISBN-13: 978-0689853258
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,142,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After nearly three decades as a professor of economics, J. Patrick Lewis turned to poetry. He is the author of more than 75 children's books including A Hippopotamusn't (1990), BoshBlobberBosh (1998), Please Bury Me in the Library (2004), First Dog (2009), Spot the Plot (2009), and The House (2009).

He has recently been named the third U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (2011-2013) by the Poetry Foundation.

His books have been published by Creative Editions, Knopf, Atheneum, Dial, Harcourt, Little, Brown, National Geographic, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, Candlewick, Schwartz & Wade, Holiday House, Sleeping Bear Press, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press, Dawn Publications, and others. Gulls Hold Up the Sky, his first book of adult poems, was published by Laughing Fire Press (2010).

Pat's children's poems have also appeared in CRICKET (26 times), SPIDER, LADYBUG, CICADA, ODYSSEY, RANGER RICK, HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN, Ms. Magazine, YOUR BIG BACKYARD, CREATIVE CLASSROOM, STORYTIME, STORYWORKS, CHICKADEE, AHOY, LANGUAGE ARTS, JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, BOOKBIRD, READING TODAY and over 100 anthologies. He wrote the 1992 National Children's Book Week poem, printed on one million bookmarks and distributed nationally.

Lewis has received numerous awards from the American Library Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and others. He was the recipient of the 2010-11 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Excellence in Children's Poetry Award, presented every two years.

WHERE I'LL BE NEXT--Schools, Bookstores, Conferences

October 14-16, 2011 Poetry Foundation--TED Lecture Chicago, Illiniois
October 23-25, 2011 NY State Reading Assn. Rye Brook, New York
October 28-31, 2011 Keystone State Reading Assn. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
November 5, 2011 Buckeye Book Fair Wooster, Ohio
November 8, 2011 Ashland University Ashland, Ohio
November 15-16, 2011 St. Joseph's College Rensselaer, Indiana
November 17-20, 2011 NCTE Convention Chicago, Illinois
December 1, 2010 Hillview Elementary Newark, Ohio
December 8, 2011 West Chester University (Dan Darigan) West Chester, PA
January 18, 2012 Richard Avenue Elementary Grove City, Ohio
January 24, 2012 Fouse Elementary Westerville, Ohio
March 1-3, 2012 Charlotte Huck Ch. Lit. Conference Redlands, California
April 3-5, 2012 Holland Hall Primary Tulsa, Oklahoma
April 12, 2012 Washington-Centerville Public Library Centerville, Ohio
April 13, 2012 Stingley Elementary Centerville, Ohio
April 17-25, 2012 Anglo-American School Moscow, Russia
April 29-May 2, 2012 IRA Convention Chicago, Illinois
May 10, 2012 Wynford Elementary Bucyrus, Ohio
March 22, 2013 OCTELA Conference Columbus, Ohio

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars mind of a child, April 22, 2011

By 

Thomas - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse (Hardcover)

It seems to me that books for children should be written and illustrated by children, and I wanted a book that would look like that. This comes close.

5.0 out of 5 stars Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children, March 16, 2010

By 

Yana V. Rodgers "econkids.rutgers.edu" (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse (Hardcover)

While children are often asked what they would like to do when they grow up, the answer may not come as easily as the question. The possibilities seem endless and the time so far away. What better than a light-hearted book of poetry to help children start thinking about a wide range of occupations, from the relatively well-known -- such as plumbers, fashion designers, and librarians -- to the fairly obscure -- including belly dancers, skyscraper window washers, and yes, even underwear salespersons.

This wonderfully creative book stands apart from other books about jobs not only because the ideas are completely communicated through verse, but also because the art work embraces the poetry in an entirely different way on every page. The Underwear Salesman gets high marks for using humor and rich artistic content to tell children about some of the jobs that may await them in the future.

5.0 out of 5 stars This zany book gives us a new and sometimes hysterical perspective on jobs ... "for better or verse!", September 11, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse (Hardcover)

Have you ever thought of what you want to be when you grow up? Or, if you are already grown up, you might want to read a zany little poem about your chosen occupation. There are all kinds of occupations, but this book gives us a unique perspective on them. In this book you will be able to take an amusing look at everything from an acrobat and a belly dancer to the paleontologist and the ventriloquist. Some are short `n some are long, but the are ALL fun!

Bathroom Attendant

Toilet's spiffy,
Sink's a shrine,
Mirrors sparkle,
Floors all shine.
I treat you
Like a VIP
You treat me
With a T-I-P.

This book is soooo funny! I giggled, chuckled and gave off a few hearty laughs over my favorites in this book. They are very original the author must have had a pad of paper on hand at all times to capture his inspiration, which must have come often, to make these rhymes so much fun. The art work changed to suit the occupation and was everything from a mix of collage to watercolor. I enjoyed them all, but I do think youngsters will be wowed by the selection of boxers and briefs the underwear salesman has to offer!