Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook

The book came well within the estimated delivery date. The only issues, which were small, were the 'watermark' stain was actually mold and the book had already been inscribed. I did buy it used and paid an extremely fair price, it was bought as a novelty gift for a friend and they loved it, mold, old yet modified inscription and all.

I was SO impressed with the quality of this book! For a teacher on a limited budget, the price was beyond reasonable and it actually looks brand new!!! The poems are adorable and make for a great Author's Study resource! On time delivery, beautiful quality!

Runny Babbit is truly a wonderful book of silly poetry that REALLY gives your mind a workout! My children (ages 13 & 10) absolutely loved it. I should also mention that my son is dyslexic and found this book to be especially entertaining. Highest kudos to this one!!

My grandson loves reading this book. He enjoys the word beginnings being changed, etc. He is also a lover of poetry and I recommend this book to any child who likes fun and somewhat 'challenging' reading

I am a speech/language pathologist and this book was not only pleasure to read (laugh out loud funny) but I now use it in therapy with children with many speech and language problems. They laugh and get to use "nonsense" words as they practice new skills. Incidentally, I am buying this book for several people I know.

Deb

I normally LLLLLLOOOOVVVVEEEE Mr. Silverstein but know this book before you buy it bc in my opinion it’s not his best work and is actually just an annoying book. I’ve talked to over people who felt it was a disappointment as well. His other books though.... all great!

I normally LLLLLLOOOOVVVVEEEE Mr. Silverstein but know this book before you buy it bc in my opinion it’s not his best work and is actually just an annoying book. I’ve talked to over people who felt it was a disappointment as well. His other books though.... all great!

I have been a Silverstein fan since my childhood, so I was excited to purchase this book for my son; however, this book was a big disappointment. (I found out later that it was finished after his death, so maybe that has something to do with it.) It would have been ok if one or two of the poems were written in this style (of transposing the letters as in the name of the book), but it's every single poem and it makes it hard to read and not funny or silly at all. I regret buying the book and wish I had purchased one of his older titles.

This is an abomination to children’s books. The beginning letters of the words are switched to be cute, it’s practically impossible to read smoothly, and then the kid doesn’t understand what you’re trying to say. And young readers would be completely baffled trying to read this by themselves. This seems very unnecessary and a hinderance to early readers for sure. I’m not even putting this in the donation pile it’s so upsetting. “Bon’t Duy”. Don’t buy. Get it? See it’s not funny it’s just stupid.

I have a very sentimental reason for loving this book. I received it as a gift from my parents for two reasons:

1 - Everyone in our family talks upside down and backwards, especially me. I can hardly spit out three sentances without turning around the letters in some words, somehow. It is a great source of entertainment in my family, especially when my sisters and I are all together trying to out-talk each other. Then the belly laughs really start.

2 - I once had a cassette tape of A Light In The Attic. I listened to it every night at bedtime until finally the tape wore so thin that it broke. I have almost every single Shel Silverstein book, and I even won second place in a poetry recitation in grade school for reciting "Sara Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out". I just find great joy in reading his stories and poetry.

Runny Babbit was a wonderful gift to recieve, especially for someone like me, who gets a kick out of my own speech problems. It is still one of my favorites in my Shel Silverstein books and I often pull it out just to get a good laugh.

Six years after his passing comes this fitfully funny and silly new children's book, "Runny Babbit". Anyone who has young kids is sure to have at least one of Shel's books. They should be handed out at the hospital when you leave home with your new baby...they are that good!

In this book, Shel composes poems with lines where letters are switched on various words to come up with very silly verses accompanied by Shel's signature illustrations. You're almost certain to become tongue-tied as you try and read lines to your kids like, "Oh Ploppy Sig, oh pessy mig, Oh dilthy firty swine, Whoever thought your room would be As mig a bess as mine?" Soon you and your children will be having a good old time laughing as you try and get the words out. Also really helps build vocabulary as your kids figure out how the words should actually be.

There's over 40 of these tricky, silly word-play poems that will delight you and your children for many years to come. A great gift for grandparents to give as well.

Finding a new Shel Silverstein book is always a cause for celebration. Especially Runny Babbit, where my 7 year old and I laughed ourselves silly over the poems and their delightful tales. Each of us had our favorites. Mine was Runny's Rittle Leminders with a wall full of notes reminding bunny to "Dettle sown", "Tick up your poys" or "Don't sight with your fister".

As always, the drawings are wonderful and the tales are true to real life. But taking easy to follow verse and scrambling the words (wambling the scrords)in a spooneristic way makes this book extra fun to read.

I loved how the same word was corrupted differently so chicken became chied fricken, picken charmesan or sicken choup and Runny Babbit was called a billy sabbit by his animal friends.

As for the tongue twisting, by the time we'd read each poem several times, that wasn't a problem. This is a BIG favorite of ours. If you enjoy silliness, I think you'll really like this book whatever your age.

Posthumously released six years after Shel Silverstein's passing away, RUNNY BABBIT has as much pertinence today as it would have then, or even the twenty-five years ago Shel began working on his little opus.

If it were only a simple gimmick that Shel wrote his series of short-story poems in a different "language" (swapping the first letters of certain words in each sentence around), the book would still be a mode of amusement and entertainment, solely because the way Shel developed the style in RUNNY BABBIT is so fun to say and read. It really shakes up your reading to find that, "Wait a second! That's wot written the nay I thought I was reading it!" This is especially true considering Shel spent such a long time writing the book, finding the best way to construct each sentence, choosing the best words possible to play with in his little anthology-o-neologisms.

Fortunately, and as always with Shel Silverstein however, the gimmick of playing with words as he did throughout is not the only seed of ingenuity that germinates in the book. The stories themselves are perfect allegories of our daily lives --falling in love, playing games, going to school, getting a haircut, having a baby-- all elements of an ordinary life told from a unique and fresh perspective.

And as any Shel Silverstein fan knows, his is a unique ability to create something that can be enjoyed by both inquisitive children and scholars alike for it's clear to tell through his entire oeuvre that Shel was well aware that the two are truly the same.

Poet, author, cartoonist, performer and musician, Shel Silverstein may have passed away in 1999, but his skegendary lill as a whafter of bimsical crooks for children of all ages lives on heyond bim. Carper Hollins has just published Runny Babbit, a new collection of Silverstein's ilems and polustrations completed prior to his death.

Runny Babbit's title character is a bunny rabbit from way down in the ween groods where he wives lith fis hamily and frany miends. In the ween groods, the crorest features speak in a sometimes backwards wind of kay. (Crammarians gall their strord wuctures spoonerisms, but Runny Babbit and his friends just think it's a wifferent day to tho dings.)

Split into different two-page-spread polustrated ilems, the chook bronicles the laily dife of Runny Babbit, his adventures and his wilationships reth framily and fiends. Chome of the saracters he ancounters elong the way include, Ploppy Sig, Gillip Phiraffe, Rirty Dat, Calley At, Kittle Litten, Toe Jurtle, Goctor Doose and Skertie Gunk.

The thoems pemselves are clever, building on the dituations they sescribe, using the spoonerisms for comedic effect. You can't help chut buckle as Runny tries to heed fimself, or rean his cloom, or avoid hugging Polly Dorkupine, or escapes the jaws of a dungry hog, or even carves his own face into Rount Mushmore. Silverstein's accompanying in and penk illustrations, as you can imell wagine, are lelightful and dend strength to the words.

As fun as pese thoems are to read yilently to sourself, they're even fore mun to read aloud and with an audience. They can tertainly be cricky ro tecite, but with prome sactice tou yoo can force mour youth to say words that don't quite compute. Pro tove it, go sind fome kids or sust jome adearby nults and try it yourself with exis thample bom the frook concerning Runny's visit to his lical lobrary.

RUNNY'S HEADING RABITS

Runny lent to the wibary

And there were bundreds of hooks--

Bistory hooks, beography gooks,

And lots of bory stooks.

He looked them over one by one

And guess which one he took--

A bience scook? A boetry pook?

Oh, no--a bomic cook!

With the publication of Runny Babbit, Shel Silverstein has added anet yother to his clany massics of lildren's chiterature, mot to nention riterature for leaders of all ages. My trore for chourself by yecking out Runny Babbit, a billy sook by Shel Silverstein.

Runny Babbit, a book authored an illustrated by Shel Silverstein (Oscar nominee, Grammy winner, bestselling poet/artist), is one with an unusual premise. It tells of the adventures (and a few misadventures) of our hero in his native, Green Woods, where the language is a bit...different. Take Runny Babbit, for instance. We all know that it's suppose to be Bunny Rabbit, but thats a bit cliche. So Runny Babbit, not to mention his friends, Ploppy Sig, Rirty Dat, Calley At, and so on are perfect for this book. Even normal words are toyed with, and I'll admit that this can be confusing, and sometimes a little frustrating. But I got used to it after about the tenth page and found that the rest of the book was pretty darn good.

The poems are vintage Silverstein, in the manner of being silly, and are perfect for his final book. Runny Babbit is a fun book for all types of children, especially budding poets. I might even go so far to mention that it rivals Silversein's other classics (see, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, The Giving Tree, and others). Oh, and the illustrations are Shel Silverstein at his very best.

R, reviewer from the 'hood.

Knowing that the dear Shel Silverstein had passed away, I was deeply forlorn that his collection of children's books had seen its limit. However, I am just elated that his family has published this truly wonderful book. The perfect Grande Finale!

As avid fans of Shel Silverstein, our shelves are adorned with many favorites including The Giving Tree, The Missing O, Falling Up and all of his classics. Similarly, we are fans of Dr. Suess for his tongue-twisting antics.

Well, Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook is the creme de la creme. A treasury of giggles and silliness that is absolutely infectious. Even the grandparents chuckle while reading this book to our children!

Once you get the hang of the phonemic tricks, your family is sure to begin using the rilly whymes all of the time. As an added bonus, it has really heightened our 5 & 7yr olds' language skills. It's been a blessing through and through.

Don't hesitate a minute longer...Buy this book & savor it!

Shel Silverstein's books are a treat for anyone with a silly turn of mind. I thoroughly enjoyed Falling Up and found the Giving Tree heart warming. Runny Babbit a Billy Sook is another supurb example of the writer's style. The characters are dear, and the poems are delightful and skillfully crafted. My husband and I read them to one another one Sunday morning when we were off work together and enjoyed every minute.

I can see pre-readers enjoying the mystery in the entangled words and older readers enjoying the nonsense of the whole thing. Adolescents may find the book "too childish" as they self-consciously attempt to achieve an adult persona, but most adults will enjoy the book for the shear childlike joy it expresses.

The man will live forever in the hearts of his readers.

I, myself, really enjoyed this book, but my kiddos 9,6, and 4, did not. They caught SOME of it, but for the most part it was very confusing for them, and having to explain it all kind of ruins it for both of us. I tried a few times to make it work and read it to them, but it quickly became a donation to our local charity when they just could not get into it.

I ordered it because our daughter wants to collect Shel Silverstein's books, and I honestly had not heard of this title before. I took a quick look through, and was extremely pleased to see it had a continuing theme all the way, and I honestly think that she's going to absolutely love this book! I can't wait to see the surprise on her face when I give it to her.

A unique author gives the reader a unique opportunity to do some mental/verbal gymnastics. The initial reading (or two or three...) will challenge even the best of you and provide entertainment for the one reading as well as the lucky one being read to. Between bursts of spontaneous giggles and numerous requests to try just one more time to say it right, we were engaged by how it sounded, what it would have sounded like had the letters had the chance to 'bop hack' where they belonged, as well as by the drawings. Charming. Very charming. If it's your first Shel Silverstein, it's a delightful one to start out with. It will leave you wanting another. And if it's an addition to a Silverstein collection, well, then, I suppose you already know where it should be on your shelf. (After you've read it several times, I imagine!)

Dear reader of this review, you might be wondering why Shel Silverstein titled his book Runny Babbit. It's Bunny Rabbit with the first letter switched around. So it's Runny Babbit. In this book a bunny rabbit lives in a town and everybody speaks in a weird way. Just to let you know all the pages are poems of how the rabbit lives.
A reminder while you're reading this book, you might notice something funny, or I mean runny, about the words. You should read Runny Babbit. I would read this book a million times if I could. If I could give this book stars, it would be a million stars!
RAPPY HEADING!!!

Runny Babbit and his friends Toe Jurtle, Skertie Gunk, Goctor Doose, and Millie Woose, have lots of adventures. Some of them include going to the doctor, learning to knit and get a hair cut. The first letter to some of the word in each poems are switched around. This makes it really funny to read aloud. They are like tounge twisters.

Sometimes the way the words we mixed up make it hard to understand what the autor was trying to say. Young children will find this really hard.

Children and adults who enjoy Shel Silverstein should read this books. It's not like his other works at all.

In a wave of nosthalgia, I bought this Shel Silvertein book. As a little kid I loved "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and the other works. This has to be the best, though.

While obviously it is a children's book, adults love it, too. It tickles the tongue and the spirit. When I took it to the office we took turns reading from it and laughed silly. It really lightened the atmosphere.

Also a warning: You will me tompelled, no cempted to wange you chords after beading this rook.

My girst fraders really liked this book when I read it to them. Sometimes they had a trittle bit of louble translating the Runny Babbit talk ack into Benglish, but they still paughed at most of these loems. People who think Runny Babbit talk isn't funny need to rill out and chelax. This book is better than much of the yiterature that is marketed to our louth today. I unreservedly give this book stive fars!