So Many Dynamos!: and Other Palindromes (Hardcover)

~ (Author, Illustrator) "NO DRESSER, DON ?..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Palindromic pundit Agee follows up his Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog! with another volume of black-and-white cartoons and punchy captions that can be read forward or backward. Some of the palindromes clearly will tickle kids' fancy: "Pupil's slipup" shows a child drawing a caricature of his teacher, unaware that the subject of his ridicule is peering over his shoulder; and a girl sipping through a straw looks aghast at hairy bumps on it ("Straw warts"). Other Agee creations seemed aimed at adults: in "Diana Bruno, On Urban Aid," a woman points at a labyrinthine diagram of where tax dollars are going; and "Flo, Gin is a sin! I golf!" says one golf-club-toting nun to a sister grabbing a drink at a bar. Two other palindromes also involve bar scenes, which may offend some parents, librarians or teachers. Also running to the off-color (but likely to please kids) are such cartoons as that of a dog lifting his leg as he addresses a man painting the Tower of Pisa ("As I pee, sir, I see Pisa!"); and that of a scientist gazing through an enormous microscope as a colleague wonders what he sees: "Snot or protons?" All ages.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Like Agee's earlier collection of palindromes (words or phrases that read the same, backwards or forwards) Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog (1992), this book features one palindromic phrase per page or spread. Cartoonlike drawings with gray washes give the sometimes oddly matched words such as "Gabe's on a Nosebag" and "Snot or Protons" a context, giving readers a reason to chuckle at an otherwise irrational phrase. The book will certainly please children (and adults) who love wordplay; they'll marvel at Agee's inventiveness. Even children who have never heard of a palindrome will be drawn to the cartoons, while readers fascinated by concept may want to try writing (and illustrating) their own. Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (October 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374224730
• ISBN-13: 978-0374224738
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,113,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars was it a rat I saw?, March 16, 2001

By	Chess Heart "paxbear" (Cattauraugus County, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Many Dynamos!: and Other Palindromes (Paperback)

Palindromes are, of course, words or phrases that are spelled the same backwards or forwards. "So Many Dynamos!" is a palindrome as well-- go ahead, spell it backwards!!

Mr. Agee has collected some fantastically complicated and funny palindromes in this collection. All of them are illustrated, which add so much to the palindrome itself. For example, two rugged cowboys are running away from a huge pair of pants. "Massive Levi's, Sam!" one man shouts to the other. Another of my favorites is of two scientists gazing through a massively huge microscope at something on a small slide. "snot or protons?" asks one scientist.

Making palindromes is no easy task, though there are hundreds of them. Mr. Agee has proven himself brilliant by not only putting them together, but illustrating some rather difficult ones that then make perfect sense (I'll let you find out what "No! Put egg getup on!" means...!!)

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A delightful book, April 7, 2000

By A Customer

Not the best book you'll ever read, but certainly somethig fun to pick up for someone's birthday, a young child, or an old child :) who's easily giggled by wordplay and cartoons. Think Far Side, focused on palindromes. I'm not sure if it thrives for as many pages as this goes, but it's a generally enjoyable book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and entertaining, June 22, 2000

By	Edward Weiss (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Many Dynamos! and Other Palindromes (Library Binding)

In any event, Jon Agee's extremely clever palindromes and accompanying illustrations are absolutely fantastic. My personal favorite is the papaya war, but you'll have to read it to understand. :)