Laugh-eteria (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Geet Up!..." (more)
Key Phrases: The King

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Kids will find plenty to chuckle over in Douglas Florian's punchline-rich Laugh-eteria, his seventh poetry offering after walloping successes like Bing Bang Boing and Insectlopedia. Well loved for his shameless punnery, Florian never hesitates to manipulate the language to suit his whim: "Graffiti, graffiti, / On sidewalk and streeti, / On glass and concreeti, / And on subway seati," begins one poem. Some of his verse rhymes quite neatly, such as this stanza from "Don't Drag a Dragon": "Don't drag a dragon by its tooth. / To drag it such is most uncouth, / Discourteous, and impolite, / And it will eat you in one bite." "What I'd Like to Share" bounces jauntily as well: "I'd like to share a nasty cold / And all my clothing that's too old. / I'd like to share a rotten chore. / Perhaps you'd like to the sweep the floor?" Other poems seem more unfinished, as if Florian got so excited about a certain goofy upside-down idea that it simply spilled out onto the page. In any case, Laugh-eteria is third-grader paradise, bursting with poem-riddles, flipped perspectives, and references to stinky feet, slimy food, monsters, noses, bugs, and dinosaurs that invariably reduce 8-year-olds to giggling heaps. Much like in Shel Silverstein's collections, each double-page spread comes to life with the poet's own freestyle ink drawings. Florian fans will enjoy the punster's groan-worthy wordplay, and kids will no doubt relish the rampant silliness that's strangely akin to their own. (Click to see a sample spread. Text and illustrations from Laugh-eteria, copyright ©1999 by Douglas Florian. Reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company. (Ages 4 to 9) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

"The poems in this book/ Are meant to be humorous./ If they are not,/ Please laugh just to humor us." Kids won't have to force their laughter while reading Florian's (Insectlopedia) pithy verses. They poke fun at the everyday ("Our school lunch is from outer space,/ Endangering the human race") and the imaginary ("Hello, my name is Dracula./ My clothing is all blackula./... /At dawn I hit the sackula./ Tomorrow I'll be backula!"). Florian repeatedly shows that he knows what makes kids giggle. Some entries are mildly risqu?, as in "Brush Rush" ("Brush your teeth./ Brush your hair./ Brush your brother's underwear./ Your teeth are green./ Your hair is blue./ Your brother's underwearAP.U.!"). Others favor clever, euphonious wordplay, as in "Batty": "The pitcher pitched a pitcher./ The batter batted a bat./ The shortstop stopped up short to see/ The catcher catch a cat." The line drawings, however, aren't as pleasing as Florian's paintings elsewhere. Rendered with a brush, they have a rough, doodle-like quality, and only rarely expand on the imagery so punchily served up in the text. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152020845
• ISBN-13: 978-0152020842
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,523,180 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Smart, and Endlessly Imaginative, December 29, 2004

By	Pincman (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

My son (who's 5 and adores books) and I found Laugh-Eteria and Bing Bang Boing (another big collection by Douglas Florian) and spent countless hours smiling, laughing, examinging the drawings, and then even engaging in our own wordplay. Hours? Nah... days and weeks, really, as it's a book we keep coming back to. There's something in these collections for everyone: broadly funny stuff that appealed to my inner kid and my son's still-kidness, poems that worked for me as an adult, characters that take on a life in a handful of lines, observations of the world told from a point of view that's unique (in an appealing way!). The drawings, too, worked well for both of us. Many are amusing in their own right, and lots add to the poem they go with. It's a great combo. Personally, I'd recommend either collection for anyone who likes to laugh.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is for the kids, not the adults!, June 7, 2001

By A Customer

I purchased this book for a seven year old who was not too fond of reading. The short, silly, easy to read poems have welcomed her into a world of reading that she is now eager to explore. The point being....this is a book of poems meant for children, the author has a fun way of writing that appeals to even the least likely reader.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Eats at the Laugh-eteria, March 8, 2007

By	Fred V. Lowe Jr. (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whether you want to groom your kid (or grandkid)to be a literary star or not, this is a good place for you both to start having real fun with words. Think of this book as the literary equivalent of an open fire hydrant on the hottest day of August. These poem-songs tickle and tease like jets of cool water. Best for kids between the ages of 5 and 10, 'tho not too old for a 4 year old or too silly for a 12-year old.