Poetry Friday - Sally Sloth's Swan Song

It’s Friday! And you know what that means: Poetry! Want to know more about Poetry Friday? Click this link right here. And be sure to check out Check It Out to see this week’s round up of wonderful poetry related posts, blogs and goodness. 

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I'm still looking for a few more people to do a Zine Swap! Check out the info here.

As you may have noticed, the blog got a little bit of a face lift this week. My wonderful illustrator husband drew me as a book-loving sloth (my favorite animal) so I decided to put it up as my new blog header. In celebration, my poem this week is also sloth related! I'll get to it in just a sec.

This week I read a really fun poetry book call Twimericks, by Lou Brooks.

 Twimericks

by Lou Brooks

The illustrations were excellent and the retro, quirky style went right along with the tongue-twisting limericks. One of my favorite poems from the book hadto do with a tooting platypus:

art and text © Lou Brooks

A Flatulent Platypus

by Lou Brooks

A petulant flatulent platypus starts,

To tooting and flouting his flute to his farts,

But at platypus outings,

His flatulent floutings,

Flout his flute flat at the tootiest parts. 

I enjoyed the poetry book so much, that I decided I would try my hand at writing a tongue-twisting limerick. And now I have a newfound respect for Lou Brooks. It was WAY harder than I thought it would be. I struggled writing one and he wrote a whole book of them. But the exercise was still fun.

Castle Hangnail - Middle Grade Review

Buy Here

Castle Hangnail

by Ursula Vernon

At a Glance

Genre(s):

Fantasy, Humor

Age Range: 

8-12

Plot:

When 12 year old Molly shows up at Castle Hangnail to fill its wicked witch vacancy, the minions of the castle are a bit skeptical. Will she be able to complete the tasks set by the Board of Magic so that Castle Hangnail isn't decommissioned and sold?

Pros:

• Original and clever plot--I was surprised at the twists and turns
• funny
• Fun, well rounded characters
• I loved the idea of the minions (like Igor, not the yellow dudes) and the Minion Union
• Satisfying ending

Would I recommend this title:

Yes! I would especially recommend this to anyone who has read and enjoyed Goth Girl by Chris Riddell.

The Review

When I picked up Castle Hangnail, I expected a cute, predictable story. I was quite surprised at how great this book was. I usually can see where the plot is headed, but this one took some unexpected turns and it was wildly refreshing. 

I was also surprised at how funny it was. There are some definite cute parts in the book, but they're not overly cutesy or pandering, if that makes sense. 

I especially enjoyed the minions in the book. The minions--there's even an Igor-like character--take care of the castle, serve the Master and are employed by the Minions Union. It is quite fun.

Overall, this is a great book. Even the ending is solid. And Vernon leaves a little wiggle room for a sequel. I'd be okay with that.