Peter S. Newell (1862–1924)

"The Slant Book" is a book from 1910 (the version I read was a modern reprint) by Peter Newell. The book follows a runaway baby cart that is speeding down a hill through a town. The baby inside the cart is having the time of his life, but the cart keeps crashing into people and things, ruining everyone else's day. On the very last page, the cart crashes into a tree stump and sends the baby flying into a pile of hay. The book is written in prose, and has a very witty style. The illustrations are what make the book for me, since every page has very detailed, humorous art on it. The illustrations pair really well with the witty text. The book is also shaped like a rhombus, which is pretty unique, though it does make it awkward to store on a bookshelf with other books. I think kids, as well as adults, would enjoy this silly book.… (mere)

Oh my, what a fun book to read The rhymes were charming. We see the consequences of on bad act and how they are perceived. The janitor's son finds a rocket in the basement and lights it. The rocket takes off and goes through each of the floors above it. On each floor we have a different incident taking place that is destroyed by the rocket coming through. The people in the apartments seem to be oblivious to what truly happened until it reaches the top floor. I loved the way each floor had a two stanza rhyming poem to explain what happened. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. This is one of those charming books to be enjoyed by young and old alike. The pictures definitely have an old time feel. If I were to meet the author I would have to say, "More Please."
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.… (mere)

This lively book illustrates what happens when a boy accidentally shoots a rocket through 21 flats of his apartment. Each flat is given it's own poem and picture to describe how it was affected by the rocket. The pictures are humorous and the poems are clever. I would recommend this book to parents to read to their children, especially if they would like to expose their children to poetry. The website that I used to read this book digitally allowed for me to zoom in close to the picture and also read the book in several languages including French, Hebrew, Korean, and Russian. I was also happy that by reading this book in a digital format, I was able to read a first edition of The Rocket.… (mere)