Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp?: and Other Oxymorons [Paperback]

Jon Agee (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Sunburst Books

Whether we are pretty ugly or terribly cute, weve all faced a minor catastrophe, made an original copy, or taken a calculated risk. And there are those of us who have turned up missing (sometimes accidentally on purpose).Good grief! These are oxymorons, common expressions made up of two completely contradictory words or elements.Jon Agee follows up his critically acclaimed palindrome books with a collection of over fifty of these strangely familiar phrases, each accompanied by a seriously hilarious illustration. Children and adults alike will be awfully amused by this small masterpiecedestined to be an instant classic

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Palindrome collector Agee turns his attention to oxymorons in this witty compendium" said PW. "He pairs 60 illogical sayings like `Near Miss' and `Sharp Curves' with his own loosely drawn, duotone illustrations with observational humor." Ages 5-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-This collection of oxymorons, illustrated with spirited black-and-white cartoons, offers readers a great way to understand the concepts while giving them a good laugh. Some of the ideas and illustrations are sophisticated, e.g., "permanent temp," "stiff drink," "Great Depression," but middle schoolers involved in the study of language and interested in the meaning of words will find this appealing title to be highly amusing.
Pamela K. Bomboy, Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed 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 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374483728
• ISBN-13: 978-0374483722
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,469,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the master of wordplay strikes again!, April 12, 2001

By 

Chess Heart "paxbear" (Canton, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp? (Hardcover)

Oxymorons are, of course, words or phrases that are inherently contradictory: "jumbo shrimp", for example. Jon Agee has taken everyday phrases that so easily fall from all our lips and made us realize how delightfully ridiculous they really are. A scorched and burned man stands at his refrigerator while fire shoots from the top compartment. Why, it's FREEZER BURN, of course!! How about a group of drivers pulling their racecars?? Yup, you got it: that's DRAG RACE for you.

Mr. Agee is perhaps better known for his children's books, "Dmitri the Astronaut" and "If Snow Comes", but he's also a master of wordplay, with three other books of palindromes (words or phrases that are spelled the same way forward as backwards) and a book of anagrams (words that can be spelled with the same letters: "Elvis Lives"). These books of oddities of English would be as at home in a classroom as on the living room shelf. Indeed, as a teacher, I often pull one or two of his works into class to get the creative juices flowing with my students as they try to compose their own anagrams, palindromes and oxymorons.

While the book is by no means complete--there are hundreds of oxymorons--it is one of the few published books of contradictory phrases and certainly the only one I know that is illustrated! While I would have liked to see some of the more "controversial" ones (you know, the one's that might--GASP!!-- offend someone, like "military intelligence", "friendly fire" or "athletic scholarship"), the book is definitely recommended to add to your collection, whether you're a wordsmith or not.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, well-thought out book of amusing oxymorons., May 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp? (Hardcover)

Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp? is a hilarious book. When I first opened it, it didn't look to funny. But as i got into it, I began laughing out loud at the ones like, "Poor Little Rich Girl," where the rich girl "hasn't had decent caviar in two days, please help. $50, $100, $200 donations. VISA and EMAX excepted." All in all, this a great book to read if you want some good laughs, and if you are looking for a book to stick your nose in. (I gaurantee that once you start, you won't put it down untill you have read the back cover)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A laugh-out-loud funny selection of visual and verbal gags, June 5, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp?: and Other Oxymorons (Paperback)

Jon Agee's Who Ordered The Jumbo Shrimp? And Other Oxymorons is a delightfully humorous book that brings classic contradictory phrases like "freezer burn", "concrete jungle," "inherited debt" and more to life with the simple, stylistic black-and white cartoons of the wryly talented Jon Agee. A laugh-out-loud funny selection of visual and verbal gags and an ideal giftbook for anyone who enjoys a quick read and a good chuckle.