Too Much TV
Tom Skinner
language
(Pink Hippo Press, Sept. 1, 2014)
What if your kids begged to play with words and ideas - because it was so fun?‘I love Shel Silverstein books (who doesn't). But this book is something more, something different. The poems are full of voluptuous words and pleasurable word play that sit in your mouth like pieces of melting chocolate.’Kids and teens love ideas from left field, a play on words that makes them giggle and stretches their creative language skills.‘Fun way to introduce poetry to children. This book is very short and can easily be read in a single story time session.’Call it what you will this quick ‘n’ quirky combination of poetry, youthful humor, silly phrases, puns and sketches is designed to challenge developing brains to look at language – and life – from a whole new perspective.Too Much TV contains playful musing and comments about TV, rabbits, donkeys, turtles, farting and walking.Encourage the young readers in your life to let loose with mad word associations, silly syllables and gormless giggles…in the bean bag with you, the car, or anywhere at all.As a parent or teacher, you have probably already had some fun together with word association, punning, and experimentation via various forms of literature.Eight short and crisp illustrated one page stories for canny readers (ages 8-15) who are wide-awake.Buy Too Much TV to have some unexpected fun with verse today!Note: Too Much TV is the fifth book in the Get Your Wordsworth series. The other books, which can be read in any order are also available as a box set (Books 1-6) for $4.99 (Get Your Wordsworth, Volume 1)So, what makes the Get Your Wordsworth series special? It's a mix of things, really. When I set out to write these books, I wanted to create a new type of poetry. A poetry-prose hybrid that was much less rigid, formal or technical than the traditional model and one that did not bore the buttocks off bright young people.Hence the highly unorthodox format, combining a newspaper style title and sub-title, an original hand-drawn high quality sketch for each poem plus a personal author insight or pun were all designed to make the poetry more accessible and digestible for middle grade readers.Overall, the Get Your Wordsworth series is designed for those, young and old alike, who appreciate the English language in all its nuanced, layered and textured glory and who can handle a judicious mix of the super silly and gently philosophical all imbued with a healthy dose of wry and dry humor!What words would you, as a modern muse, use to describe this series? It’s tough to describe because Get Your Wordsworth seems to be (as far as I can tell) a new style of middle grade fiction…one that combines a timeless art form (poetry) with a couple of quirky yet synergistic twists and tweaks.Overall, I call this style of illustrated micro fiction fast blasts. But a quick brainstorm also unearthed the following possible descriptors!short story poemsquirky poetry-prose fusionlaugh now, think later versepoetry-prose mash-uprap trapsgenre-busting poetry-proseone minute super shortspictorial poetry-prosebite-size bedtime readsplayful poetrycheeky chunks poetrypoetry-prose hybridlittle book of laughsRe-verse high-brow