Torrible Puns: A Collection of Punny Poems

Gr 2-5–Eye-rolling while smiling is the response every punster hopes for, and the lines in this book consistently deliver just that. Torrible offers effective poems without forced rhymes or nonsense words—if the wordplay is nonsensical, it’s on purpose. There are popular themes in the rhymes, including homework, camping woes, and odd animals. “Wait for It” is a brief representative example: “While waiting for my waiter,/ my restlessness grows greater./ I realize moments later,/ by waiting, I’m the waiter.” Back matter includes explanations of the puns in the poems. For instance, in the poem “Measure Up” “There once was a king/ who was 12 inches tall./ He soon earned the title—/ Best Ruler of All.” Back matter explains to readers that a “ruler can mean a leader (here, a king) or a measuring stick.” These explanations could be used for word study.