There are well over 100 pages of mischievous, marvelous stories and poems in this collection from Mahy ( The Haunting ; The Tricksters ) and Blake (illustrator of The BFG ). Blake's quirky black-and-white drawings frequently comment on the text like cartoon characters, as when a startled woman appears to spout the copyright information and a man in a pince-nez beside her says, "It beats me how she remembers it all." Mahy's story about the cat who "gets poetry in his blood" by swallowing a poet-mouse is pure fun, and children will enjoy the puns and unexpected characters that inhabit the eccentric landscape. The Flingamango, the man from the land of Fandango, a small ghost who lives in a book, a word-wizard who wreaks havoc on the Delmonico Family--all make merry in a nonsense world where most things are slightly--and gleefully--askew.

This small collection of original verse and prose is certain to sharpen the wit and produce grins--whether read independently by older readers or aloud to younger ones. Within these outrageous pages, one meets a poetic cat (who says philosophically, "perhaps all this poetry stuff is just the world's way of talking about itself"), punsters, word scramblers, and the unusual Delmonico family--to name a few. On the surface, many of the rhythmic short stories and poems appear to be simply quite nonsensical. But upon closer inspection, this very zaniness masks some sound "food for thought" --providing a springboard for possible group discussions with older readers. There are tones of a Roald Dahl ("Green Marmalade to You") or a Shel Silverstein ("My Sister") sense of humor, but coupled with Blake's spirited line drawings throughout, this is delightfully original bouncing, bantering buffoonery. You can expect "nonstop nonsense" from start to finish with this selection.