What do you think?
Rate this book
There's an Awful Lot of Weirdos in Our Neighborhood: And Other Wickedly Funny Verse
A collection of humorous poems about eccentric characters.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
4 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Colin McNaughton
164 books25 followersGrowing up in his native England, the young Colin McNaughton had little indication that he would one day become an author-illustrator. There were no books at all in his parents' home, he recalls, but there were always comics. These were his formative literature, and their slapstick humor has been a lasting influence. "I've been talking about the comic format for years," he says. "It's the modern way of telling stories for today's children; it's about movement, the step between film and the book."
Colin McNaughton says he "hated school. The word 'school' still gives me nightmares." Opting for technical college, he admits he even "made a mess of getting in there -- I'd filled out the application wrong, and when I turned up for registration they'd never heard of me!" So he worked at odd jobs for the next year before entering art school. Although his first book was published while he was still in school, Colin McNaughton did not immediately become a full-time artist. He first tried editorial and advertising work, but did not find the satisfaction that he got out of creating children's books. "At the end of it, there it is, a book on the shelf, not like a newspaper in the gutter. In fact, once you start thinking about it, it's a smashing job!" If the response to his books is any indication, children and adults seem to agree that Colin McNaughton is doing a "smashing job."
Colin McNaughton lives in London with his wife.
Colin McNaughton says he "hated school. The word 'school' still gives me nightmares." Opting for technical college, he admits he even "made a mess of getting in there -- I'd filled out the application wrong, and when I turned up for registration they'd never heard of me!" So he worked at odd jobs for the next year before entering art school. Although his first book was published while he was still in school, Colin McNaughton did not immediately become a full-time artist. He first tried editorial and advertising work, but did not find the satisfaction that he got out of creating children's books. "At the end of it, there it is, a book on the shelf, not like a newspaper in the gutter. In fact, once you start thinking about it, it's a smashing job!" If the response to his books is any indication, children and adults seem to agree that Colin McNaughton is doing a "smashing job."
Colin McNaughton lives in London with his wife.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 5, 2018
I have been thinking a lot recently about good, high quality poetry texts and collections that are useful for the classroom. This one was loved by my Y5 and 6 classes, especially the boys. It is funny and has some great characters.
October 3, 2018
A fun and eccentric collection of poems featuring some really silly and nonsense situations. What strikes me is the impact that this book could have upon children who may be reluctant or even nervous to read poetry. Each poem is generally quite short which all children could access when reading independently or listening to someone reading aloud, and would be so lovely for quick bursts of poetry when the moment arises.
September 4, 2018
I found this collection of poems a bundle of laughs with its cheeky verses and great rhymes. Colin McNaughton cleverly adapts some traditional poems that will no doubt have adults in fits of giggles, as well as children! With some fabulous characters and inventive layouts, this poetry compilation is multi-sensory and sure to please any primary class.
October 28, 2012
This collection of poems is great fun for both children and the adults reading to them. The poems vary greatly in length, style and topic but all are equally witty.
The monsters theme makes this book particularly appropriate for around Halloween and the varying length of the poems makes it an easy read to dip in and out of.
The monsters themselves range from dinosaurs to werewolves to disgusting cousins and cover a wide range of settings and themes including friendship, food, and school.
The narration is colourful and imaginative, children will adore the pictures which compliment the richly descriptive texts.
Overall I would say this is a brilliant book that will entertain boys and girls of around age 6+ for hours on end.
The monsters theme makes this book particularly appropriate for around Halloween and the varying length of the poems makes it an easy read to dip in and out of.
The monsters themselves range from dinosaurs to werewolves to disgusting cousins and cover a wide range of settings and themes including friendship, food, and school.
The narration is colourful and imaginative, children will adore the pictures which compliment the richly descriptive texts.
Overall I would say this is a brilliant book that will entertain boys and girls of around age 6+ for hours on end.
September 28, 2016
This was one of my favourite poem books when I was a children. I love the funny (and sometimes disgusting) poems are illustrated and how they are written. Really good way to introduce poems to younger children and enjoyed by older children too.
August 27, 2019
This book really grabbed my attention due to the humorous title. I can really see how this book would appeal to young children. It includes many different poems, all with different themes, different styles, and different lengths however all of which are accompanied with funny illustrations which adds effect. This means that children are able to perhaps enjoy the poem more because they are able to fully understand the poem. The poems are light-hearted and features some silly situations which again appeals to young children as it is exciting and unusual.
The fact that each poem is fairly short means that it is highly accessible to young children, making poetry exciting and appealing. Most poems use rhyme which creates a beat and rhythm and therefore
it is easy for children to read. If an adult was reading these poems aloud to young children, I imagine the use of rhyming will retain children's attention as well as their imagination.
The fact that each poem is fairly short means that it is highly accessible to young children, making poetry exciting and appealing. Most poems use rhyme which creates a beat and rhythm and therefore
it is easy for children to read. If an adult was reading these poems aloud to young children, I imagine the use of rhyming will retain children's attention as well as their imagination.
August 11, 2018
The poems are based on eccentric characters
They are lots of rhyming words within the poems which may help children to learn about rhyming couplets.
It teaches children about having a sense of humour and to enjoy poetry.
It also teaches children how not to behaviour and show good manners. For example the poem called picking noses teaches children that it is not good manners, the poem is funny because it shows the children that if they pick their nose too much it may get bigger. The people about the weird people in the neighbourhood helps children to realise that they should treat all people with respect.
The message of the poem is for children to have fun when they read poetry and not to be bored after reading the first to lines. This poetry book is important for engaging children and helping the, to understand that poetry can be fun.
I enjoyed this book because the poetry was fun which encouraged me to continue to read the poems. I would recommend this book because it will help children to learn about poem structure through a fun and engaging way.
They are lots of rhyming words within the poems which may help children to learn about rhyming couplets.
It teaches children about having a sense of humour and to enjoy poetry.
It also teaches children how not to behaviour and show good manners. For example the poem called picking noses teaches children that it is not good manners, the poem is funny because it shows the children that if they pick their nose too much it may get bigger. The people about the weird people in the neighbourhood helps children to realise that they should treat all people with respect.
The message of the poem is for children to have fun when they read poetry and not to be bored after reading the first to lines. This poetry book is important for engaging children and helping the, to understand that poetry can be fun.
I enjoyed this book because the poetry was fun which encouraged me to continue to read the poems. I would recommend this book because it will help children to learn about poem structure through a fun and engaging way.
September 10, 2019
The books does exactly what it says on the tin, filled with rather silly verses and pictures. The poems range in length and style, however the illustrations are brilliant and add great context or humour to the lines you read. My favourite has to be the poem on reflection, I won’t spoil the joke but it is very funny in my opinion. It is a great read and you can have a chuckle as you go, no matter how old you are.
April 13, 2021
This book consists of a variety of different poems focusing around strange characters and considers various points of view.
The poems are odd and interesting but are now quite outdated and some, I feel, are insensitive and would not be appropriate for younger readers especially. However, it would be an interesting collection of poems to explore with UKS2 pupils when considering how both literature and society changes through time.
The poems are odd and interesting but are now quite outdated and some, I feel, are insensitive and would not be appropriate for younger readers especially. However, it would be an interesting collection of poems to explore with UKS2 pupils when considering how both literature and society changes through time.
August 19, 2019
I remembered this book from when I was in primary school and it’s just as much fun now as it was then. The poems are every bit as mad as Spike Milligan’s and have the same knack for bringing children back their pages again and again to play with the patterns and rhythms of the verses and talk about their silly, often controversial themes.
December 18, 2020
A really lovely poetry book for KS1 and lower KS2 children. The stories told in the poems are exciting and have interesting creatures and people. Creating an engaging stimulus for reading and writing.
November 23, 2017
My favourite book of poetry from childhood. Genuinely funny.
December 6, 2014
Read for CBR6
I think the best part about books of poems written for children is that the poets allow themselves to be unabashedly inspirational or absurd. They let themselves go past the limits of ‘ordinary’, into territory that’s considered too sentimental or ridiculous for grown-ups: When it comes to writing for children – particularly writing poems for children – there are no such boundaries. The less ‘normal’ the better, the more sweet or shocking, the more relate-able, it seems. And someone who’s figured this out pretty well is Colin McNaughton in his book There’s an Awful Lot of Weirdos in Our Neighborhood. In fact, he addresses it head on in his poem “I Wish I Was Normal”
I wish I was normal
Like everyone else.
I wish I was normal
Like you.
I wish I was normal
Like everyone else.
I wish I had one head,
Not two.
I hate being normal
Like everyone else.
Being normal is not
Any fun!
I hate being normal
‘Cause everyone knows
That two heads are better
Than one!
You can’t tell from just the printed poem, but it’s accompanied by an illustration of a person with two heads (or two people with one body: I don’t know which way to say that) on one page, saying the first part, and someone who appears to be a ringleader on the facing page, saying the other half of the poem. Both illustrations are vividly colored, as if all the characters are from a circus.
Half of the fun of these poems are the illustrations (also provided by McNaughton), which range from serene and soothing to disgusting and disquieting. A poem called “I’m Much Better than You” finds itself interrupted by a grizzly bear not only in text (“who is on the run from the maximum security wing of London Zoo and who has not eaten for three days, leaps behind a tree and swallows up the boy without so much as a “How do you do?””), but also with a furry, sharp-tooth, claw-sharpened illustration of said bear on attack.Or a fuzzy blue bird with the word bubble that says “Tempus Fugit (and so do I).” that accompanies “Absurd Bird Words.” (And his flock of friends, half of whom I had to insert their word bubbles into Google translate because I do not speak Greek, and I’m too nosy not to know what they’re saying.)
McNaughton seems to excel at the play on words type poems “Hide-and-Seek” or “Teef! Teef!”, for example, and they’re the ones my niece likes to read best – the idea that a big run on sentence or two “wonoothreefourfisisernayniten – readornothereIcome” is the whole text of a poem, and that you can play with the sounds of words as well as their meanings is easily illustrated by some of his work here. There are some takes on classic poems (See: “Monday’s Child is Red and Spotty”); some puns and word-plays (“Hair Piece”); and lots and lots of alliteration and onomatopoeia lessons lurking in the midst of the fun and games. You know I’m always on the lookout for a good lesson, particularly when the kid never sees it as one. If I can just let them wander through “The Lesson” on their own, through “Blether, blather, blah-blah, bosh/ Claptrap, humbug, poppycock, tosh./ Guff, flapdoodle, gas and gabble./Hocus-pocus, gibberish, babble.” and let them pick it all up on their own, then that’s even better.
There’s a time or two the rhythm is a beat off, to my ear, and there’s a bit too much violence in the poems themselves (‘Entirely too much slapping happening,’ says the pacifist Kindergarten teacher that the poems are decidedly not aimed towards), but other than that, they’re goofy and just as full of the weirdos as the title promises.
I think the best part about books of poems written for children is that the poets allow themselves to be unabashedly inspirational or absurd. They let themselves go past the limits of ‘ordinary’, into territory that’s considered too sentimental or ridiculous for grown-ups: When it comes to writing for children – particularly writing poems for children – there are no such boundaries. The less ‘normal’ the better, the more sweet or shocking, the more relate-able, it seems. And someone who’s figured this out pretty well is Colin McNaughton in his book There’s an Awful Lot of Weirdos in Our Neighborhood. In fact, he addresses it head on in his poem “I Wish I Was Normal”
I wish I was normal
Like everyone else.
I wish I was normal
Like you.
I wish I was normal
Like everyone else.
I wish I had one head,
Not two.
I hate being normal
Like everyone else.
Being normal is not
Any fun!
I hate being normal
‘Cause everyone knows
That two heads are better
Than one!
You can’t tell from just the printed poem, but it’s accompanied by an illustration of a person with two heads (or two people with one body: I don’t know which way to say that) on one page, saying the first part, and someone who appears to be a ringleader on the facing page, saying the other half of the poem. Both illustrations are vividly colored, as if all the characters are from a circus.
Half of the fun of these poems are the illustrations (also provided by McNaughton), which range from serene and soothing to disgusting and disquieting. A poem called “I’m Much Better than You” finds itself interrupted by a grizzly bear not only in text (“who is on the run from the maximum security wing of London Zoo and who has not eaten for three days, leaps behind a tree and swallows up the boy without so much as a “How do you do?””), but also with a furry, sharp-tooth, claw-sharpened illustration of said bear on attack.Or a fuzzy blue bird with the word bubble that says “Tempus Fugit (and so do I).” that accompanies “Absurd Bird Words.” (And his flock of friends, half of whom I had to insert their word bubbles into Google translate because I do not speak Greek, and I’m too nosy not to know what they’re saying.)
McNaughton seems to excel at the play on words type poems “Hide-and-Seek” or “Teef! Teef!”, for example, and they’re the ones my niece likes to read best – the idea that a big run on sentence or two “wonoothreefourfisisernayniten – readornothereIcome” is the whole text of a poem, and that you can play with the sounds of words as well as their meanings is easily illustrated by some of his work here. There are some takes on classic poems (See: “Monday’s Child is Red and Spotty”); some puns and word-plays (“Hair Piece”); and lots and lots of alliteration and onomatopoeia lessons lurking in the midst of the fun and games. You know I’m always on the lookout for a good lesson, particularly when the kid never sees it as one. If I can just let them wander through “The Lesson” on their own, through “Blether, blather, blah-blah, bosh/ Claptrap, humbug, poppycock, tosh./ Guff, flapdoodle, gas and gabble./Hocus-pocus, gibberish, babble.” and let them pick it all up on their own, then that’s even better.
There’s a time or two the rhythm is a beat off, to my ear, and there’s a bit too much violence in the poems themselves (‘Entirely too much slapping happening,’ says the pacifist Kindergarten teacher that the poems are decidedly not aimed towards), but other than that, they’re goofy and just as full of the weirdos as the title promises.
September 28, 2016
When I first saw this book, I thought that it would be an interesting read. Almost everyone can relate to having neighbors that one can't quiet explain. So, when I saw the title of this book I thought that it would be a read that children, and even adults, could relate to easily. But, after completing this book of verses, I am sadly disappointed.
The book does contain good poetry in the sense of format and style. However, the meaning behind the various poems in this book can have messages that can be offending to many people. The poems call characters names and describe characters causing harm to others just to name a few. I was also not impressed with the foreword to this book. When reading the foreword, I was offended. The way that it is written makes the reader seem small and as if the author does not have empathy towards others.
Some may see humor in this book, as the author states at the beginning. However, I would not consider this a joyful book. It is very glum, and personally left me feeling unhappy when I finished. I did not enjoy this book like I thought that I would.
Due to the content of this book and the messages that the poems convey, I would not use this in my classroom, and I would not recommend it to other teachers to use in their classrooms.
The book does contain good poetry in the sense of format and style. However, the meaning behind the various poems in this book can have messages that can be offending to many people. The poems call characters names and describe characters causing harm to others just to name a few. I was also not impressed with the foreword to this book. When reading the foreword, I was offended. The way that it is written makes the reader seem small and as if the author does not have empathy towards others.
Some may see humor in this book, as the author states at the beginning. However, I would not consider this a joyful book. It is very glum, and personally left me feeling unhappy when I finished. I did not enjoy this book like I thought that I would.
Due to the content of this book and the messages that the poems convey, I would not use this in my classroom, and I would not recommend it to other teachers to use in their classrooms.
June 16, 2018
This anthology of Colin McNaughton's nonsense poetry was recommended by one of my course tutors and it's great fun to read for children, but also full of valuable themes for lessons for teachers. McNaughton comes across as almost a contemporary Lewis Carroll, using nonsense words in 'The Lesson', literal interpretation of metaphor in 'A Heart of Gold' and 'At Long Last Spring Has Arrived' and crazy plot-twists such as in 'The Invitation'. I must admit I was slightly disappointed by the title poem 'An Awful Lot of Weirdos': it seems to do little for acceptance of difference and lacks the imagination of many of the other poems. Nevertheless it does offer children the chance to respond hugely creatively with their own ideas and experiences relevant to them. Many of the subjects relate easily to children and McNaughton's adoption of well-known traditional poems such as 'roses are red' and 'Monday's child', before taking them somewhere unexpectedly new, mimics the way children often respond to traditional adult formulae in a novel manner. Not just an entertaining read but full of ideas and creativity just begging the reader to respond in their own way.
October 31, 2012
My younger brother and I loved this book as children. It is one of my biggest regrets in life that I got rid of my copy years ago in either a charity bag or carboot sale (although I do hope it brought others the laughs it brought us). I believe it isn't currently in print anymore which is a real shame and I would sign any petition to bring it back.
It is a fantastic way to introduce poetry to young children and many of the verses are hysterically funny. The fact that I can still recite some now shows the impression it made on my childhood self.
My nephew particularly loves the poem about the creature searching for their missing hairy toe although (like my brother and I) he does get hysterical and a little scared, often pausing the poem before he hears the end.
I would love to have this in my possession once more and would look at incorporating poetry like this in my classroom as an introduction to poetry.
It is a fantastic way to introduce poetry to young children and many of the verses are hysterically funny. The fact that I can still recite some now shows the impression it made on my childhood self.
My nephew particularly loves the poem about the creature searching for their missing hairy toe although (like my brother and I) he does get hysterical and a little scared, often pausing the poem before he hears the end.
I would love to have this in my possession once more and would look at incorporating poetry like this in my classroom as an introduction to poetry.
May 14, 2012
In general, poetry isn't "my thing," but this book, that we picked up by chance at a garage sale (which makes it all the more special in my book) has my 5 year old begging to read it over and over, is a gem. The humorous and slightly crass poems have us laughing out loud over and over again. The British twist makes them all the more interesting to us American girls. And the illustrations are nothing to turn your nose up at either.
I think this starred review from Publishers Weekly says it best: "With a dash of Monty Python and a whiff of Jack Prelutsky, McNaughton's deliciously outrageous poems are filled with wacky cartoon characters, nimble puns and clever spoofs."
I think this starred review from Publishers Weekly says it best: "With a dash of Monty Python and a whiff of Jack Prelutsky, McNaughton's deliciously outrageous poems are filled with wacky cartoon characters, nimble puns and clever spoofs."
February 15, 2012
this book is meant for the kids at age 7-8
but i really enjoyed it while i was reciting it for kids
they laughed so hard at this one :
Teef Teef I have loshed my Teef
Hash anyone sheen my Teef ? you wont be able to help I shuppose ; but shomebody shtole them from under my nose ! Hash anyone sheen my teef ??
but i really enjoyed it while i was reciting it for kids
they laughed so hard at this one :
Teef Teef I have loshed my Teef
Hash anyone sheen my Teef ? you wont be able to help I shuppose ; but shomebody shtole them from under my nose ! Hash anyone sheen my teef ??
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews