A Surfeit of Similes by Norton Juster

by Norton Juster

A "witty celebration of comparisons.... The interplay of words and pictures is intriguing, with the artist's sense of humor a perfect match for the author's playful tone.... As is a real find." --Language Arts."Wonderfully entertaining." --Kirkus Reviews.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Poetry, Middle Grade, Language

Hardcover

First published March 28, 1989

About the author

Norton Juster was an American academic, architect, and writer. He was best known as an author of children's books, notably for The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and the Line.

Reviews

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book from the library because my son asked for more books from Norton Juster while we were reading the Phantom Tollbooth. I read it aloud and the kids did really enjoy it. I handed it over to the 9 year old and 8 year old after so they could really enjoy the pictures and they laughed and laughed at them while rereading some of the similes. Then they sat for a bit coming up with more and how they'd draw them. I don't think they'll forget what a simile is anytime soon. A fun addition to an English lesson.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man takes a boy on a delightful and whimsical journey in order to explain what a simile is. This collection of familiar and unfamiliar similes is accompanied by interesting and quirky illustrations. The similes are presented with a clever rhyme scheme that is as entertaining as the similes themselves. Any true fan of The Phantom Tollbooth would love this.

The edition of this book that I read, published in 1989, is entitled AS: A Surfeit of Similes. Now isn't that a better title? I wonder why it was changed...

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely delightful! It's a quick little romp through an explanation and demonstration of the use of similes, and the illustrations are absolutely perfect. I'd love to see this used as part of a language arts lesson.

[Phillip Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusingly good book for teaching kids about similes, by the author of the Phantom Tollbooth, with delightful illustrations by David Small.

[Gabriella Araujo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this for my esl spend in middle school. we work with similes in poetry and it is just the thing to introduce and explain the concept to them.
very cute. the drawings are nice and are really detailed line drawings that help bring more clarity to some of the similes and soak conversations on one's not written on the page.
lovely book by a well-known author.

[Tandava Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun, long poem of similes, some of which are delightfully inspired but mostly because of how they fit into the poem’s rhythm and rhyme. The illustrations by David Small are really excellent, and are what make it a 5-star book.

[adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute but not memorable

[Philipp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. While the "surfeit" makes the text a tad tedious (as tedious as chores), the pictures make up for it. And when the pictures aren't very relevant, the rhyming's cuteness makes up for them.
I have the feeling it's not a great read-aloud because of the vastly differing levels of difficulty of concepts or words.
But, hey, I could keep up with it, so it's great for MY age group.
(As glib as a goodreads review.)

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

"As dead as a doornail, as constant as clocks..."

David Small does for this story what Jules Feiffer did for Juster's first book: the illustrations are fabulous, to the point where I actually became eager to see the illustrator's reinterpretation of the author words, more interested in his drawings than the similes.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I enjoyed Norton Juster's witty humor and his knack for taking the ordinary and making it extraordinarily funny. But this book wasn't absolutely amazing, I wouldn't go out and buy it anytime soon.

[Rachel]

It went on a little long perhaps.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read and well written. The pictures add to the experience.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More fun word play from a master wordsmith.