Fables for the Frivolous

If you (or you children) enjoy Dr. Seuss books, or if you are old enough to have enjoyed the cartoon version of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, you will love this. You will also have a good time if you just wanted to see what could be done to liven up the fables of Aesop and LaRochfoucald. I first found some poems of Carryl fifty years ago in Louis Untermeyer's anthology of British and American poetry. By that time Carryl's books were out of print, and since that time even Mr. Untermeyer has dropped him. This is not great literature, but it is fun. In nowhere else, other than the two places I have mentioned, can you find such outrageously ingenious rhymes and such uproariously funny puns. If yous can interest your school age children in this book, it will have the additional benefit of broadening their vocabulary ( a great help on their SATs) since Carryl uses Words and doesn't (like Dr. Seuss) have to invent his rhymes.