Cover Image: Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe

Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe

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Member Reviews

This is a fun collection of children's poetry. Ranking right up there with the best and most classic children's poetry, kids in that later elementary grade level will appreciate the quirky, silly and especially the gross humor.

I will recommend this to teachers and older kids who are looking for funny poetry.

Thanks to Redtail Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe is a delightful collection of short stories told in verse that bring laughter and joy. My kids enjoyed listening to the story of Mary Melissa Miranda McGurk her story was so fantastic and ended in such woe. The tales found in this book are playful and fun with a slight twist that make them full of woe by the end. This book would work so well to aid in taking a brain break and having a good chuckle to clear one’s head.

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Kids will love these dark, funny, fantastical poems and illustrations which are guaranteed to have them laughing out loud. Very clever, each one surprised me in some way. This is a great way to introduce kids to poetry - they'll be having so much fun, they won't realize that they're reading an art form that many unfortunately choose to ignore.

Well done, TD!

My thanks to Redtail Press for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. Publication is set for 1/24/23. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

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Thank you for this advanced copy. This book is unique and full of tales of woe, as the title suggests. I expected something similar to Shel Silverstein because of the cover art and black & white style.

This book has stories that will delight children and adults. The plot of each poem is fun for school-aged children. I didn't care for the rhyme structure of some of the poems as I often tripped over words and had to reread lines. As a teacher, I wondered if some of my students would also struggle with some of these same lines.

Overall, this book made me smile and I know children will love the outlandish plots!

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This book reminded me so much of Shel Silverstein mixed with Edward Gorey. Many of the poems have sharp with and funny accompanying illustrations. Some of the poems felt more clever than others but all in all this was a delight to read. I especially enjoyed the poem about a missed call from God.

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From the cover alone, I think I expected a poetry book with more of a childlike whimsy, like the works of Shel Silverstein. While I enjoyed some of the poems, I don't think I actually smiled or laughed out loud at all while I was reading, which is what I was really hoping for when I downloaded this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

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Very reminiscent of Shel Silverstein in style, humor and illustration. Children love rhyme and nonsense so I think it would be well received in an elementary school classroom.

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This new book didn’t win the Baldersquash award by mistake. It’s funny, silly, ridiculous, whimsical, and yet so smart you’ll do a few double takes at both the author and illustrative cleverness.

There is no way around the comparisons to Shel Silverstein, but you’ll be disappointed if you go in expecting this to be a continuation of Mr. Silverstein’s work. It’s not, and that just wouldn’t be fair to any author. Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe stands on its own merits- please give it a chance to be itself.

That being said, it made me feel like a kid again. I did follow it up with a re-read of a Siverstein classic, simply because the joy it built up inside my heart drew me back to a favorite from my childhood. Reading fuels and empowers your brain, and books like this help kids believe that anything is possible. I’ll display it at the library, and highly recommend it.

Grateful thanks to NetGalley and Redtail Press for access to a digital ARC, and to Tim DeRoche and Daniel González for making my heart soar with recollections of my beloved childhood library adventures.

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What to say about this small book of poetry? Or should it be labeled as doggerel? Reminds me of Shel Silverstein, with some quotes from Lewis Carroll. This will appeal to a limited audience, but some kids will "get" these poems and the illustrations are delightfully off the wall. Poems are short, and may require students to look up a few of the words.

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Oh my what a fun read and I don’t normally enjoy poetry.
Here we have a mashup of Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein and a lesser known book, The Bloody Hungry Spleen by Allan Wolf.

This is a fun and silly book of nonsense and a winner of the annual Baldersquash medal. Yes that one was new to me too. It seems to be a rather mysterious award and honors the very best in highfalutin nonsense.

Every bit of this anthology of odd poems are completely engaging and enhanced by the illustrations.

I enjoyed Carrot Talk where Mis Pepper was insulted not by Carrrot.

Then there is now to start your morning…
I brush my teeth with superglue,
And wash my face—oh yes I do—
With leftover soup I find in the trash
(Which leaves my skin with a nasty rash).

And kids are SURE to love One Man Band who by the way needs no instruments…
While I can make all kinds of noise, It’s ’specially fun to burp.
And when I’ve got some extra time, I also like to slurp.
Sneezing, too, is quite a sound And glorious fun to boot.
But farting is my favorite noise:
There’s nothing like a toot.

I of course noticed the rhythm of a few poems as a bit hard to find, but it’s cool how the author’s note acknowledges some of the stretches. 

Oh please author DeRoche and illustrator Gonzalez let this be the first of many more anthologies. I beg for more!

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If you like Shel Silverstein, Edward Gorey or Roald Dahl this is the book for you! the words and the illustrations were a devilish pleasure to share with those who need and enjoy a clever laugh.

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A fun and zany collection of poems and illustrations reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's collections. Children and adults will enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

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A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

4/5 - Really liked it.

This was a fun book of ridiculously and delightfully whimsical poetry, ranging from the silly and nonsensical to the somewhat dark (but in a good way). This appealed well to my sense of humor and feels like a grown-up version of Shel Silverstein or Dr. Seuss, but with all the childish delight that a book of somewhat irreverent poetry might contain. I enjoyed this - a good, quick read to boost your mood!

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This silly, fun collection of poems invokes the similarities of a collection of Shell Silverstein down to the kooky black and white illustrations. When incorporated in a classroom, this would be an enticing way to encourage students to read aloud and to write their own original poetry. I also liked how they consistently embedded big vocabulary words to increase the reader's knowledge bank.

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Very whimsy, ofc. Although I like whimsy some of the poems were just too much nonsense for me. I felt it got better in the second half of the book and there were some poems I liked.

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A delightfully quirky collection of poems perfect for fans of Shel Silverstein. The captivating illustrations that accompany these verses make even more enjoyable.

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Thank you for providing me a copy of “Tales of Whimsy. Verses of Woe”” in exchange for an honest review and leave my review voluntarily.

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This collection has the potential to turn kids who turn up their noses at poetry into poetry fans. The works included here are unique, sometimes odd and often funny. They are accompanied by cartoon-like illustrations. Most kids are sure to chuckle at ntries such as The One Man Band.

This title is definitely worth a look.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Redtail Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

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It's as if Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss had a baby. A fun, nonsensical book of poetry and prose. The drawings are delightful and will be must more appreciated in a print book than via Kindle. This would be a GREAT book for a read aloud to elementary school students.

"If your moral character is flimsy
Or your wit be rather slow,
Oh dare not read these tales of whimsy
For often do they end in woe."

Thanks to NetGalley and Redtail Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

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Children in my school love poetry books and I think they would like this one too. The illustrations are fun and add to each story or poem. Some of the poems were very witty and silly and others we’re just okay. I don’t mind the occasional word for students to look up and a few like borogove stumped me. And a few of the funnier to me poems had lines that I were more for an older reader. At times I found the rhyming rhythm hard to figure out. I would purchase this for a school library shelf but in all honesty I would probably suggest Silverstein over this for elementary aged readers. In my ARC I had formatting issues when using the Kindle app that were not an issue using the NetGalley app. Thank you to NetGalley and RedTail Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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