Pappa Gander: the Less Better Half of Mother Goose

by Robby Charters

Originally titled "Jack and the Beanstalk: the Whole Story plus the Sequel", now merged with "Pappa Gander", with better layout design and another story or two:

At long last, Pappa Gander gets a few words in edgewise. Read some of your old familiar nursery rhymes rewritten his way, plus a few other rhymes, limericks, some haiku, and stories...

Jack and the Beanstalk -- did you ever wonder what happened to the cow? or the beans from the beanstalk? What did Jack do later in life? Find out in Jack and the Beanstalk, the Whole Story, Plus the Sequel...

The Adventures of Jack and Jill -- a hilarious blend of a lot of familiar rhymes. Pappa Gander gets things a bit mixed up here, and ends up with a second version of Jack and the Beanstalk, but with the Seven Dwarves instead of the giant...

Snow White, from an alternative universe where things happen a bit differently...

Robby, the author behind Pappa Gander says: "My poetic inspirations were Roald Dahl, Shel Silverstien and Ogden Nash. Also included are some of my cartoons, largly influenced by Gary Larson (Far Side). Some of the rhymes were done strictly because I found words that rhyme in an amusing way (amusing to me, anyway)."

Nook

First published September 24, 2011

About the author

Hello. That photo you see there is of me and my son. It's actually a few years old. My son was about nine when I took that selfie but now, he's twenty, and is in Uni in Scotland, becoming smarter than me. I still like that photo, and I'll keep it until he tells me to take it down. And I probably look a bit older than that as well. Anyway, my wife and I live in N. Ireland. I write stories, draw pictures, design books, and work at a day job. In some of my books, there's a character named Boz, probably with the surname of O'Brian. If you happen to come across him, that's me making a cameo appearance. From Boz, you'll know that my roots are in Thailand, where I was born of an Irish dad and American mum. Though American, my mum was also born in Thailand. We're all missionaries. You'll read about that bit of history in The Eurasian. In Pepe, you'll find that I worked for a year in a homeless children's shelter similar to the one you'll read about there. I still think fondly of that place. The Zondon will tell you about the school I attended for two years that I think define my childhood in Bangkok, with other missionary kids. If you like how my covers look, and the interior design of my books, I can do yours as well - if you're a self published author. To find me, just Google "Robby Charters", or go to my website: www.RobbyCharters.co.uk.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the author's maturity in creativity and the way he plays on words. I thought the story about the bean stalk was a better fit for a Children book, as well as the Snow White story. The creative language was sometimes confusing to me, but overall there was a lot of senseless humor in the stories. The limericks were really good, haiku not so much, although two or three haikus made an impact. Overall, I enjoyed the writer's originality

[Priya Narayanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Papa Gander is a hilarious book and had me in splits from the start to the end. The unique take on stories like Jack and the Beanstalk and Snow White are refreshing and will appeal to young kids and old alike. The poems, limericks and haiku are all completely crazy funny and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. The illustrations are also sketchy and have a funny edge to complement the text. Then why only three stars? Well, although I'm not sure what the target age group for the collection is, I find a lot many pieces(other than the stories) too complex for say, an average 8-year-old; for example, the piece titled Poetic Justice and several of the Haiku. So, if it were not categorized as a children's book, I'd have given it four starts to be sure.

Note: I received a complimentary copy in exchange for a non-reciprocal, honest review.

[G.J. Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Having read this book with a review in mind I feel slightly breathless and very bemused by it. There were times when the surrealism I associate with Lewis Carroll, Douglas Adams or Spike Milligan came across very strongly and I had to pause and think again. Did the author mean some of the crazy things that I had read or was there another underlying message there for the adult who was “sharing” the book with their child? This is not to say that I did not enjoy reading it because it was refreshingly new in many ways: crazy, as I said before, but also fun and fast moving with plenty of opportunity to question and laugh out loud.

Some of the rather outrageous statements - e.g. “but the beans they ate made them flatulate so strongly, it propelled them upward so did they begin, from the gas within, to fly, though they felt awkward up-up they went, by gas they were sent with beans for rocket fuel” - might not always receive parental approval but would be very acceptable to the kids I’m sure!

I found the layout of the text and the illustrations somewhat strange and crude and many professional educators would want editorial improvements in this respect. As a retired teacher I often had to resist reaching for my red pen but as a parent and grandparent of kids who love this kind of nuttiness I had to reconsider, put aside my first reactions, allow surprise and be “amused”. In the end this collection of craziness: cartoons, stories, limericks, and variations on traditional tales is well worth reading to/by 8 to 12 year olds in my opinion, but its presentation just needs a little tidying up.

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Mark Daydy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another reviewer mentioned Spike Milligan, and that is exactly what leapt to mind when I read this book. It's crazy, nuts, bonkers and full of inventive lunacy. I think younger kids will enjoy its energy, and perhaps also teens looking for ways to put off writing that next homework essay. It goes through the alternative story of the title, but there's also some whacky Snow White and a bunch of limericks thrown in. The author has no sense of discipline, but sometimes that's absolutely fine.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever collection of stories, based on the nursery rhymes we *think* we know, along with some thoughtful- and some silly- poetry. I really enjoyed this one! The writing is smooth and crafty. I wasn't anticipating some of the topics mentioned, and those really made me laugh! Oh, and the illustrations are a nice cherry on top, so to speak.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very imaginative short story written in a casual manner. I could not help but laugh out loud at some points of this e-Book. The drawings are also quite the added bonus---and who knows there's an entire society of giants up in the clouds!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute "quick read" for young readers.

[Robby Charters · Rating 5 out of 5]

what do I think? Well...I wrote it!