Ready for Spaghetti: Funny Poems for Funny Kids

Praise

Endearing. . . the playful aesthetic will undoubtedly appeal to toddlers and preschoolers who are beginning to develop a love of language. The musicality of the writing encourages adults to share in the fun as they read the poems out loud—and ­perhaps invent whimsical rhymes of their own. . . . A delightful introduction to poetry; a valuable ­potential bonding experience for young children and their ­caregivers.
—School Library Journal

Dunbar’s watercolors, depicting a racially diverse cast of laughing, active children in pajamas or play clothes, reflect the celebratory tone of Rosen’s breezy miniverses, which are not only suitable for chanting or singing as well as silent reading, but are often structured to make it easy for children to add their own rhymes and embellishments. . . . Irresistible invitations to engage and interact with words.
—Kirkus Reviews

Dunbar’s loose-lined ink and watercolor illustrations, meanwhile, depict children of various abilities and skin tones engaging in the activities together. Pages abound with the glee that arises when each day promises new discoveries—linguistic and otherwise.
—Publishers Weekly

Arranged in order of a child’s day, Rosen’s poems are full of sound effects and not-quite-nonsense words. . . Don’t be surprised if these poems’ easily memorized and malleable short lines (“Bibble, bobble, bubble / dibble dobble double… / You can’t catch the bubble, / The bubble can’t catch me”) become household refrains.
—The Horn Book