THE PHANTON ICE CREAM MAN: More Nonsense Verse

by X. J. Kennedy ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 18, 1979

More Nonsense Verse, close to 50 more, in the manner of One Winter Night in August (1975). We've already seen a few of these in Daisy Wallace's Giant Poems and Ghost Poems and in William Cole's recent Dinosaurs (p. 520, J-130); the others have to do with strange birds and beasts, ""magical menaces,"" ""far-out family"" members, and just this and that. (There's a four-liner of 14 words about having lasagna whenever ""the mood was on ya."") A few of these seem more ingenious than catchy, but the one that begins ""If combs could brush their teeth,/If a needle's eye shed tears,"" puts the cleverness (not just the subject) on a.kid's level. The title poem is truly shivery; others such as ""The Locomotive Sloth"" (he's called a lummock, to rhyme with stomach) are wildly ridiculous. Being by Kennedy, all have style, zing, and a fine sense of fun.

Pub Date: April 18, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION