The Tickle Tree: Poem Jokes

L.W. Lewis
Red Pumpkin Press (2007)
ISBN 9780971157231
Reviewed by Jen Cardwell for Reader Views (6/08)


“The Tickle Tree” by L. W. Lewis is a series of ‘poem jokes,’ a popular form of poetry for young children.  The master in the field of poem jokes, of course, was Shel Silverstein.  After reading “The Tickle Tree,” I am fairly certain that Silverstein was a significant influence on Lewis’ writing.  This influence comes alive in some of Lewis’ best poems such as ‘My Spoiled Brother’:

            My brother is a spoiled brat,
            Who will not even feed the cat.
            He doesn’t have to clean his room,
            I’ve never seen him touch a broom…

            …I do chores. Is he not able,
            To make his bed or set the table?
            I complained to Mom but I was told,
            “Your brother’s only three days old!”

It was poems such as this that truly made the book.  Some of the other poems were less entertaining, or started using the same joke too many times.  However, this will probably bother adults reading the book more than it will bother young children.  Thinking back to the years when I taught second grade, I can absolutely imagine reading this book to my students or having them read it themselves.  I am fairly certain it would have been a big hit. 

“The Tickle Tree” by L. W. Lewis would not be a book that I would recommend for an adult to simply pick up and read for fun, but it is a book that your children are likely to love.  Let me leave you with my favorite poem joke from the book:

           ‘If I were a fish’

            If I were a fish,
            I’d never eat worms.
            They all look slimy
            And most have germs.

           I don’t like crabs
            Or eel that much.
            Oysters are things
            I won’t even touch.

            It would be dumb
            To bite on a lure.
            I would not eat hooks,
            Of that I am sure.

            You can’t eat jellyfish,
            They glow in the dark.
            I think I would be…
            A cake-eating shark.

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