I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

In the Land of the Bumbley Boo
All the mice go Clang!
Hello Jolly Guardsman
But a Hippopotamus Could eat the Lotofus!
The wonderful Bumbley BOO!!!
And Edser, in bed sir, was dead sir
Hello Jolly Guardsman
And Bottles of Dandelion Stew
Hello Mr Python
The People are red white and blue
English Teeth, English Teeth!
I’m not frightened of Pussy Cats
English Teeth, English Teeth!
While an elephant raised his hat
You must never bath in an Irish Stew
Look at all those monkeys
On the Ning Nang Nong
But a Hippopotamus Could eat the Lotofus!
And Edser, in bed sir, was dead sir

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This is an illustrated collection of 34 silly verse for children aged 9+ by Spike Milligan, including On The Ning Nang Nong, A Thousand Hairy Savages and Today I Saw A Little Worm. Some of the illustrations in the version I read (published in 1968) don’t really pass for modern day attitudes but the verses themselves are brilliantly silly and ripe with Milligan’s distinctive voice and I think that kids will love the rhyming and the sheer fun of them.

The Blurb On The Back:

They chop down 100ft trees
To make chairs
I bought one
I am six-foot-one inch
When I sit in the chair
I’m four foot two.
Did they really chop down a 100ft tree
To make me look shorter?

Here’s a volume of Millipoems on pollution, population and conservation - serious subjects, overlaid by the inimitable Milligan humour.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This is a collection of 41 poems/silly verse by Spike Milligan (4 of which are reprints) plus illustrations by Spike and 5 illustrations by his daughter, Laura Milligan. Although some of the verse sparks with Milligan’s zany wit, the majority are surprisingly sombre and political and tie in with Milligan’s anti-war, environmental interests. Sadly this book is out of print but is worth a read if you’re a Milligan completist.