If You Were a Chocolate Mustache

Gr 3-8–This meaty collection presents more than 150 pages of poetry and wordplay. Each selection is flavored by a humorous pen-and-ink illustration by Cordell, who tends to favor a literal reading of events. For the poem “Tuna on a Roll,” a no-frills, pen-and-ink drawing of a tuna fish wearing sunglasses and speeding along in a sporty convertible immediately gives the sense that “there’s something fishy here.” Besides fishy fish, the menu offers  tongue-twisters; riddles; limericks based on body parts, e.g., “limb-ricks”; anagrams; puzzles; and haiku. Subjects range from a car that’s light as a feather, with Marshmallow Fluff seats, to an imaginary pet on a leash whose owner can claim, “He never messes on the lawn./He’s what it means to say, “Doggone!…” There are “Epigraham Crackers”; haiku riddles of U.S. place-names; homonym-inspired poems; and wry bits of advice, such as, “never eat your pretzels straight./A pretzel ought to circul8!.…”  Lewis is not only one of the most prolific, comic poets; he’s also one of the funniest and most inventive. The collection will serve as a strong resource for creative-writing prompts. A great big feast of poems.–Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA