The Silly Book

With such diverse opinions about this book, I thought I'd excerpt a few representative lines to give you an opportunity to preview it. Author/illustrator Stoo Hample originally put out "The Silly Book" in 1961; Candlewick published this edition in 2004. Not having seen the original, it's difficult to say how the two compare. In general, I think that nostalgia and memory make the booklover's heart grow fonder. However, Candlework's typical high production values (thick glossy paper, quality book materials) may actually work against the frivolity of the book; a cheaper 'zine (slang for low-tech magazine) format may have been more consonant with the throwaway silly humor. Here's an example: SILLY STORY I want to see my mommy a minute, My mimmy a monnit. My mommy a minnit. I want to see my mommy a minnit. To sing her a little song, To sing her a little. To ling her a sittle, To sit her a lingle long. (I think my mommy will like it Because it's a very short long.) Nothing extraordinarily clever here--you're not gonna get something akin to the "Mozart effect" (in which parents play Mozart for their infants, hoping to stimulate their brains). No, when Hample titled this "The Silly Book." he meant it. Here are some examples. Note how some of these riddles and word plays are now very formulaic for adults. The example immediately following is the kind of riddle that helped build one adult comedian's (G.C.) reputation. SILLY QUESTION If people get chicken pox, What do chickens get? SILLY ANSWER People pox. ANOTHER SILLY QUESTION If Mommy eats a Popsicle, What does Daddy eat? ANOTHER SILLY ANSWER A Momsicle! A few other examples follow: SILLY MILLIE "I am silly,/You are silly, All of us are silly,/ Willy./ All of us but cousin/ Millie./ She's upside down." (The poem is next to a picture of Millie, upside down, holding a flower labeled, "Tillie.") SILLY RECIPE "Cook three pieces of/spaghetti in a pan of/water for two years. Add one teaspoonful/ of chocolate syrup/ and mix well. Spread on bread/ and freeze. Feed to teddy bear." More than most books, this one depends on the interaction between the reader and the audience. When read with the right expression and tone to a receptive, language/sound fascinated boy or girl, this may be great fun and build future warm memories. Read cold off the page, many of the riddles, poems, and other prose come off as familiar word play. (By the way, the accompanying illustrations are generally simple, although sometimes drawn with clever dialogue or captions). Perhaps in 1961 this book was somewhat ahead of its time; the utter nonsense of these books may have been a refreshing change for some. Soupy Sales, a somewhat comparable visual and linguistic entertainer, was still a few years away from TV. Soupy, however, has a few more layers of meaning--there's a sly wink at the adults not seen here-this book centers around little kids only. "The Silly Book" will not ruin your audience's language; instead, it h

This was my brother's and my favorite book growing up. We laughed and shared endless inside jokes quoting it to each other. After college, I snatched our tattered copy from our parents' home, but a few years later my brother asked me for it. How could I refuse him, since he asks for so little? Hence my children, who arrived after the book departed, did not have this book read to them during the crucial 4- to 8-year-old age range. Knowing time was running out, a few years ago I started searching for a copy from online used bookstores, but to no avail. As soon as I heard it was re-printed, I bought a copy and read it to my kids. Alas, they didn't get it. You see, they are now 14, 13, and 11, and in their mind far too old for silliness. The 11-year-old caught a few of the jokes, but it won't be a favorite. The lesson: Buy a copy early in your children's lives. There's nothing else out there like The Silly Book.

My sister and I grew up with my 3 cousins reading this book and as adults, fought over the one copy that was left (they won). We would hoot and howl over this book. It's ridiculous and genius at the same time!! Absolutely unique. Every kid will love this book. It's about time they re-issued this book.

Woo hoo! What a classic. The Silly Book is good clean fun, and of course very silly. So... where's the old Silly Record? Or will it be reissued as a Silly CD?

I read this book as a kid and have been looking for it ever since, so I'm delighted it's back! As I look back on it, I realize it had a huge impact on shaping my sense of humor. Stoo was a friend of my dad's and he came to our house a couple times when I was a kid, and I remember him as being warm and funny.