Penny Candy

by Jean Kerr, Whitney Darrow Jr. (Illustrator)

15 new, extremely funny, pieces by the author of "Please Don't Eat the Daisies." These stories run the gamut from home entertaining to Twiggy with a laugh every step of the way.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir, Biography Memoir

186 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Jean Kerr was an American author and playwright, best known for her humorous bestseller, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and the plays King of Hearts and Mary, Mary. She was married to drama critic Walter Kerr and was the mother of six children.

Reviews

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Jean Kerr. I hadn't thought of her in years, but my mom had several of her books, so when we divided her things, I brought this one home. I remember reading it as a child, chuckling over her droll descriptions of family life. Since it was written in the 1960's, some of it is dated, but she's still quite funny. It wasn't until I reached the next to the last chapter that I realized there was a bit of this book that changed me. She described her family's Culture Hour, when the kids learned to recite poetry and appreciate music, and I realized that this was something I loved from the time I was young. One of the family's favorite poems is printed in its entirety and I memorized it many years ago. Yep. I can still say it, and it still makes me cry. Wonderful memories. 😊❤️

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

My final Jean Kerr book from the trifecta offered by the library was equally entertaining.

Penny Candy follows the same formula as her previous anthologies – essays on motherhood, marriage, fashion, décor and exercise (or lack thereof) – told from a vintage 1950s point of view.

I liked this least of the three that I read, but one of her final chapters, “Culture Night” was fabulous! Of her six children, the older four were nearing, what we would refer to as their “tween” years. She decided that they needed to start memorizing poetry – so each week she would assign them age appropriate poems that they were to memorize for the following Sunday, at which point, they would be required to recite them in front of the family. Needless to say, this new family activity was met with much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, but she persevered, and soon the children were reciting, Donne, Yeats, Shelley and Housman (just to name a few). Not only was it funny to read, but inspiring to think that this activity had a prolonged affect on her children, that they were often heard reciting poetry – gasp! – voluntarily!

Jean Kerr was a joy to discover – I only wish she were still living so she could write about 21st century family life!

[Debra B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book reflects the year 1970 when it was written, and the years immediately preceding it when the essays included in the book were published in various magazines, it was a highly entertaining book. Very funny. Jean Kerr was a gifted writer.

[Valerie]

Unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of this (I'll keep looking).

By process of elimination, however, I can reconstruct what's in it by not finding it in the other two (Please Don't Eat The Daisies and The Snake Has All The Lines).

Thus I know, for example that this is the volume in which Kerr explains why she didn't call this book Wait for Me, Butterfly. And also the book in which she explains that she vainly tries to convince salesclerks that she can't wear beige because she IS beige. And the one in which she explains that honestly telling children that they won't like what they're about to eat is more effective than trying to coax them.

For a more detailed table of contents...I'm afraid that's just going to have to wait until I get my hands on a copy.

One other thing: this is the volume which includes Kerr's experiences when she and her husband tried to teach their children not to fear poetry. This bit I'd buy if that were all the book had in it. I'm going to HAVE to find a copy--but it's hard, because comedy is the most neglected of all the subjects in used bookstores. Mind, I've nothing against Garfield. But I'd like at least a few OTHER books as well--a little Wodehouse, maychance? And this book, particularly.

[Persephone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of Jean Kerr's essays as they appeared in magazines of the sixties. I got it out because I fondly remember the superlative article "The Poet and the Peasants", about Kerr's efforts to introduce her five sons (her one daughter was too young at the time) to poetry and classical music. The other articles are amusing, but mostly dated. Kerr's upper middle-class world of New York's bedroom communities with large families is probably long-gone. (No one can afford both anymore.) There are still some chuckles to be had though. Kerr's struggles with her weight and finding clothes not designed for "tens and under" have alas, not gone out of style.

"The Poet and the Peasants" is a classic, though and makes this whole book worthwhile.

[Linda Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book about 40 years ago and just read it and laughed out loud several times again. It is a collection of very funny pieces, e.g. Entertaining at Home: "1600 people are just too many,"Twiggy: "Actually I have nothing against Twiggy. She seems like a most delightful boy," and Plants: "I never know when to cut back. When the proper monment comes, we seem to be out to dinner or something." I recently cleaned out Mom's bookcase and this was one of her books that I brought home. I was delighted to find it. She's the author of "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," and "the Snake Has All the Lines," both of which I also read about 40 years ago.

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Every story is funny, especially "I Just Stepped out of Vogue" and "The Poet and the Peasants". the "Introduction" is great too. I have read this many times and each time it just gets better; Jean Kerr is the crown jewel of humorists. Her work is a tad dated, but that can even add to the fun, as in "As I Was Saying to a Geranium". Just read it, even if you aren't a pre-teen or post-operative (you'll get it when you read it.).

[Cws]

817.54

[Lavalette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining!

[Beth Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great chapter about doing Poetry with her children.

[William Leight · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Penny Candy" was published a decade after Kerr's previous book of humorous short pieces, and it shows. Specifically, it shows Kerr having difficulty adapting to the '60s. Too many of the jokes in this volume are just complaints about the kids and their propensity for being on Kerr's lawn: they probably weren't very funny at the time and being half a century out of date hasn't improved them any. Which makes another point of commonality between Kerr and SJ Perelman, whose late work also tended towards splenetic complaints about how things were better in his day. There are some quite amusing nuggets among the unfunny jibes about Twiggy and boys with long hair, so it's not that "Penny Candy" isn't worth reading at all, but if you're in the mood for some Kerr I would recommend reading (or re-reading) "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" or "The Snake Has All the Lines"

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago I read Jean Kerr's books, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and The Snake Has All the Lines, and remember them as being quite funny. So when I spotted this book at a garage sale I picked it up hoping to get some more laughs. I was not disappointed. Although the material dates from the 1960's, the themes, raising kids, being uomfortable in crowds, coming to terms with the fact that you don't have a magazine model body, etc, I think are universal. Best of all she does it with a sense of humor, reminding us that we'd probably all be a lot happier if we took life a little less seriously.

[Angie Kaelberer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" from the movie with Doris Day, but don't recall reading the book. Picked this up at a garage sale--it was published in 1970 and is probably original to that time. I grew up in the late 60s and early 70s so shouldn't be shocked at how much things have changed, but I was a little bit as I read. Kerr reminds me of Erma Bombeck with a little more bite. Sounds like she had household help but she also raised 6 children while having a writing career, which is amazing even today.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jean Kerr is an older-style writer in the vein of Erma Bombeck. I found this one at Salvation Army a few years ago and thought it would be a fun read.

And it was. True, it's a bit (or a lot) dated, but most of the observations of family life still ring true. Kerr has a gently sardonic view that was a refreshing read after wading through some recent clunker novels.

[Joe Holman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a humorous book. Also a glimpse into life a generation ago with many subjects that would be considered outdated today; in a way a shame as it seemed to be a much gentler, less cynical time.

[Paula Galvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny Candy is a collection of fifteen hilarious short stories about raising kids, managing your husband, and living life in general. Published in the 60s, it's a bit dated but still funny.

[L C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny is funny - the era in which a book is written matters not.