What do you think?
Rate this book
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Please Don't Eat the Daisies has sold millions of copies since its original publication in 1957. It became a film in 1960 starring David Niven and Doris Day, and a television series in 1965. Now you can hear why many consider Jean Kerr to be one of America's funniest writers. In this unique collection of essays, Kerr captures the perils of motherhood, wifehood, selfhood, and other assorted challenges. Listen and learn "How to Decorate in One Easy Breakdown" and how to drop those unwanted pounds with "Aunt Jean's Marshmallow Fudge Diet." Please Don't Eat the Daisies strikes modern listeners as particularly funny because these feminist issues are still relevant today.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
227 people are currently reading
2290 people want to read
About the author
Jean Kerr
52 books55 followersJean 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
May 22, 2008
My favorite paragraph, because it's such a great description of my mother:
"My mother came to help us move. This was a great boon, except that there is something wrong with her metabolism. She is not able to work for more than nineteen hours without stopping. During this period she is sustained by nothing more than several gallons of hot tea, which she consumes while on the the top rungs of ladders or deep inside crates. By midnight, when I was ready to sob with fatigue, it was nothing for Mother to announce cheerfully, 'Well, what do you say we clean out the garage?' She was a little disconcerted, though, when she discovered she wasn't able to pick up a television set, and I heard her moaning softly, 'Jean, I'm afraid I'm beginning to slow down.' I don't know whether it's true, but we can hope."
I also learned a new word: "matutinal." Those of you who know what it means (or find out) will probably understand why I've never so much as heard of it before.
"My mother came to help us move. This was a great boon, except that there is something wrong with her metabolism. She is not able to work for more than nineteen hours without stopping. During this period she is sustained by nothing more than several gallons of hot tea, which she consumes while on the the top rungs of ladders or deep inside crates. By midnight, when I was ready to sob with fatigue, it was nothing for Mother to announce cheerfully, 'Well, what do you say we clean out the garage?' She was a little disconcerted, though, when she discovered she wasn't able to pick up a television set, and I heard her moaning softly, 'Jean, I'm afraid I'm beginning to slow down.' I don't know whether it's true, but we can hope."
I also learned a new word: "matutinal." Those of you who know what it means (or find out) will probably understand why I've never so much as heard of it before.
June 18, 2020
I can hear Doris Day singing the song in my head even now . . .
I had no idea that the movie was based on a book, and not even a novel, but a series of comic essays by a playwright! WHAT. Jean Kerr is funny and honest, and I'm happy to have discovered it via a friend. You know I loves me some Betty MacDonald or Hildegarde Dolson, and Kerr's writing feels a lot like that! I also loved the cartoon illustrations, which added extra delight!
PS: I put the book on hold via the Salt Lake County Library system and when it arrived I was a bit floored. This edition is a specialty printing, one of a run of ONLY 80, with thick paper, recreations of the original marbled endpapers, and type that feels like it was manually pressed by Gutenberg. I . . . used to catalog such things for Special Collections at the BYU library. We . . . had to wear white cotton gloves to touch them. You couldn't just . . . check them out and take them home to read while you eat cereal . . .
I had no idea that the movie was based on a book, and not even a novel, but a series of comic essays by a playwright! WHAT. Jean Kerr is funny and honest, and I'm happy to have discovered it via a friend. You know I loves me some Betty MacDonald or Hildegarde Dolson, and Kerr's writing feels a lot like that! I also loved the cartoon illustrations, which added extra delight!
PS: I put the book on hold via the Salt Lake County Library system and when it arrived I was a bit floored. This edition is a specialty printing, one of a run of ONLY 80, with thick paper, recreations of the original marbled endpapers, and type that feels like it was manually pressed by Gutenberg. I . . . used to catalog such things for Special Collections at the BYU library. We . . . had to wear white cotton gloves to touch them. You couldn't just . . . check them out and take them home to read while you eat cereal . . .
November 22, 2019
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies
This was one of the books I snuck out of mom’s reading pile and read on my own. I was thrilled with how grown-up I felt at “getting” at least a few bits of the humor. There were definitely chapters that were skippable for the 12-year old me, but it was the first time I actually thought about what would entertain my mother in her down time; actually considering her as a person separate and apart from my mother - not a role, but a person.
I read it again in high school and thought it was killer (I was a nerd, 110%). Re-reading it 50 years later . . . .well. . . .it definitely lacks the humor hits of the saucier world we live in, and I’m not particularly sure would have been published “as is.” And there are still some skippable chapters (really they are essays pulled together for a book). A number of the essays are firmly rooted in the context of their time, and without that background, a reader is left adrift (don’t you love mixing metaphors????). But then, that is the foundation and key of humor. It’s only funny as long as people get it. When they die, and there is a new “it” driving the humor train (Metaphor!) which turns yet another corner. I rarely get ancient humor without at least 4 or 5 specific courses on the relevant cultures.
I enjoyed my time reading Jean Kerr’s books, remembering mom and what my grandkids call the “olden days.” HA! The olden days were the 1800s. Anything in the 1900s and 2000s are “modren” days as my Great-Granny usta say.
As for y’all? It’s an acquired taste, and that requires work. I’m giving it 2 stars for 2019+mom. It was probably 4 stars in 1958 when it was written.
This was one of the books I snuck out of mom’s reading pile and read on my own. I was thrilled with how grown-up I felt at “getting” at least a few bits of the humor. There were definitely chapters that were skippable for the 12-year old me, but it was the first time I actually thought about what would entertain my mother in her down time; actually considering her as a person separate and apart from my mother - not a role, but a person.
I read it again in high school and thought it was killer (I was a nerd, 110%). Re-reading it 50 years later . . . .well. . . .it definitely lacks the humor hits of the saucier world we live in, and I’m not particularly sure would have been published “as is.” And there are still some skippable chapters (really they are essays pulled together for a book). A number of the essays are firmly rooted in the context of their time, and without that background, a reader is left adrift (don’t you love mixing metaphors????). But then, that is the foundation and key of humor. It’s only funny as long as people get it. When they die, and there is a new “it” driving the humor train (Metaphor!) which turns yet another corner. I rarely get ancient humor without at least 4 or 5 specific courses on the relevant cultures.
I enjoyed my time reading Jean Kerr’s books, remembering mom and what my grandkids call the “olden days.” HA! The olden days were the 1800s. Anything in the 1900s and 2000s are “modren” days as my Great-Granny usta say.
As for y’all? It’s an acquired taste, and that requires work. I’m giving it 2 stars for 2019+mom. It was probably 4 stars in 1958 when it was written.
Read
November 22, 2011Long before Erma Bombeck moved next door to Bil Keane (cartoonist of The Family Circus), Jean Kerr was writing these essays in the gaps between playwriting and childrearing.
There are things she does well, others not so much. I didn't care for her rewriting of stories in different styles, although the one with Lolita and Humbert Humbert and the relationship counselor came off well.
I often can't remember which of Kerr's works a particular essay is in. I also have The Snake Has All The Lines and Penny Candy, but I know there's at least one other (Penny Candy).
The individual chapters all have titles, but in this case I would definitely advise reading the Introduction first (many people skip introductions altogether, and others read them last) This one begins: "I had the feeling all along that this book should have an Introduction, because it wasn't going to have an Index, and it ought to have SOMETHING". So you already know you're on safe ground. It goes on to explain why a strapping young woman of 5'9" decided to forgo marrying a basketball player, and instead married a college professor who later became a drama critic (along with a theory about how you can tell a bad play by how much you learn about the players from the program). Then it ends with "Maybe we'd better have an index.": and if you flip to the end, there it IS! A little odd, maybe. Who enters 'worrywart' as 'wart, worry?'
Chapter I: Please don't eat the daisies: The author proposes to save her children a fortune in psychiatrist fees: she'll tell them right now why their parents rejected them. They're IMPOSSIBLE. Then she goes into detail as to HOW they're impossible.
Chapter II: How to be a collector's item: A compendium of (supposedly verbatim) letters from the author (of which, she explains, she's kept copies, since she assumes her scatterbrained kith and kin won't have bothered to save any). Note especially the complaint about the price of meat.
Chapter III: Greenwich, anyone?: (You have to pronounce this the British way to find it funny). This chapter has a picture which is captioned "What gets into city writers when they move to the country". The author concludes with an explanation as to why she is NOT going to pack her bags and follow.
Chapter IV: How to decorate in one easy breakdown: The general principles here are perennial, even though much of the detail has become dated.
Chapter V: Dogs that have known me: The dogs in this essay are definitely individuals. The social climber, the piano climber, the earring eaters...
Chapter VI: The Kerr-Hilton: This delightful abode is introduced to readers in the same way the family found it necessary to lead a guided tour for anybody who came to the house. The fact that the original owners only agreed to sell after one wing of the house burned down will give you a clue that it's not a ranch-style bungalow.
Chapter VII: The care and feeding of producers: Kerr was a playwright, so her stories tend to differ from those of the average housewife of the time. Frankly, this is the point where the puzzled reader is likely to begin to seek out old almanacs, etc. The people Kerr knew (and knew of) are too many of them forgotten. So a lot of the characterization of people is lost if you don't know who, for example, Joshua Logan is (don't ask me. First I ever heard of him).
Chapter VIII: One half of Two on the aisle: The adventures of a drama critic's wife (who, if she could spell 'dessicate', 'would long since have assumed her rightful place in the world of letters.')
Chapter IX: Don Brown's Body: A simulation of a dramatic reading of a hardboiled detective novel. As I say, I was not impressed.
Chapter X: Toujours tristesse: a silly version of blase European novels. I don't know if they're really like this, but I thought Kerr's version was a serious misuse of a considerable talent.
Chapter XI: Snowflaketime: deploring the tendency to go for spectaculars in school pageants.
Chapter XII: How to get the best of your children: (?Better?). Anyway, this deals with the emotionally ambivalent relationship between adults and children.
Chapter XIII: Where did you put the aspirin?: more on the logical vagaries of children.
Chapter XIV: Aunt Jean's Marshmallow Fudge Diet: This is one of the primary reasons that Kerr's dated essays remain fresh. Where, today, will you hear a spirited assertion of the right (and indeed the responsibility) not to be obsessed with one's weight?
Chapter XV: Operation operation: hints on how to make the most of a hospital stay.
And finally, the promised Index, which is almost as much fun as the essays.
There are things she does well, others not so much. I didn't care for her rewriting of stories in different styles, although the one with Lolita and Humbert Humbert and the relationship counselor came off well.
I often can't remember which of Kerr's works a particular essay is in. I also have The Snake Has All The Lines and Penny Candy, but I know there's at least one other (Penny Candy).
The individual chapters all have titles, but in this case I would definitely advise reading the Introduction first (many people skip introductions altogether, and others read them last) This one begins: "I had the feeling all along that this book should have an Introduction, because it wasn't going to have an Index, and it ought to have SOMETHING". So you already know you're on safe ground. It goes on to explain why a strapping young woman of 5'9" decided to forgo marrying a basketball player, and instead married a college professor who later became a drama critic (along with a theory about how you can tell a bad play by how much you learn about the players from the program). Then it ends with "Maybe we'd better have an index.": and if you flip to the end, there it IS! A little odd, maybe. Who enters 'worrywart' as 'wart, worry?'
Chapter I: Please don't eat the daisies: The author proposes to save her children a fortune in psychiatrist fees: she'll tell them right now why their parents rejected them. They're IMPOSSIBLE. Then she goes into detail as to HOW they're impossible.
Chapter II: How to be a collector's item: A compendium of (supposedly verbatim) letters from the author (of which, she explains, she's kept copies, since she assumes her scatterbrained kith and kin won't have bothered to save any). Note especially the complaint about the price of meat.
Chapter III: Greenwich, anyone?: (You have to pronounce this the British way to find it funny). This chapter has a picture which is captioned "What gets into city writers when they move to the country". The author concludes with an explanation as to why she is NOT going to pack her bags and follow.
Chapter IV: How to decorate in one easy breakdown: The general principles here are perennial, even though much of the detail has become dated.
Chapter V: Dogs that have known me: The dogs in this essay are definitely individuals. The social climber, the piano climber, the earring eaters...
Chapter VI: The Kerr-Hilton: This delightful abode is introduced to readers in the same way the family found it necessary to lead a guided tour for anybody who came to the house. The fact that the original owners only agreed to sell after one wing of the house burned down will give you a clue that it's not a ranch-style bungalow.
Chapter VII: The care and feeding of producers: Kerr was a playwright, so her stories tend to differ from those of the average housewife of the time. Frankly, this is the point where the puzzled reader is likely to begin to seek out old almanacs, etc. The people Kerr knew (and knew of) are too many of them forgotten. So a lot of the characterization of people is lost if you don't know who, for example, Joshua Logan is (don't ask me. First I ever heard of him).
Chapter VIII: One half of Two on the aisle: The adventures of a drama critic's wife (who, if she could spell 'dessicate', 'would long since have assumed her rightful place in the world of letters.')
Chapter IX: Don Brown's Body: A simulation of a dramatic reading of a hardboiled detective novel. As I say, I was not impressed.
Chapter X: Toujours tristesse: a silly version of blase European novels. I don't know if they're really like this, but I thought Kerr's version was a serious misuse of a considerable talent.
Chapter XI: Snowflaketime: deploring the tendency to go for spectaculars in school pageants.
Chapter XII: How to get the best of your children: (?Better?). Anyway, this deals with the emotionally ambivalent relationship between adults and children.
Chapter XIII: Where did you put the aspirin?: more on the logical vagaries of children.
Chapter XIV: Aunt Jean's Marshmallow Fudge Diet: This is one of the primary reasons that Kerr's dated essays remain fresh. Where, today, will you hear a spirited assertion of the right (and indeed the responsibility) not to be obsessed with one's weight?
Chapter XV: Operation operation: hints on how to make the most of a hospital stay.
And finally, the promised Index, which is almost as much fun as the essays.
December 22, 2016
Jean Kerr is a woman ahead of her time! A lot of things that she said almost 5 decades ago still hold tre nowadays. I love her self-depreciating sense of humor. Her rants about her kids kind of made me want to have kids just so I can make fun of them myself. Well, not exactly, but that's to say how much I want to relate myself to her.
April 28, 2018
I read this collection for the first time when I was in high school, and have read it over and over as the years passed. Jean Kerr had a dry wit and I loved her descriptions of life with four children, pets, New York theater, and an old enormous money pit of a home. Some of the material is now dated, but still, in my opinion, enjoyable.
Obviously, I'm not the only one who liked it. Decades ago a movie starring Doris Day and David Niven was filmed (I enjoyed that, too!) loosely based on Ms. Kerr's book.
Obviously, I'm not the only one who liked it. Decades ago a movie starring Doris Day and David Niven was filmed (I enjoyed that, too!) loosely based on Ms. Kerr's book.
April 7, 2015
I loved this book. It's been a while since I read it; I loaned someone my copy two years ago and never got it back. From what I remember, a couple of the essays were less funny than the rest, but the bulk was absolutely hilarious. Recommended for everyone.
October 30, 2019
3.5 Humorous, if somewhat dated, this was a quick and enjoyable listen.
October 15, 2012
Enjoyed this super fast read from 1957. Loved the Doris Day movie and the tv show too. I had recently seen a little blurb in the book section of the Sunday New York Times on the author Jean Kerr. It had been the 50 year anniversary (April 6, 1958) that the book was #1. Had to put it on my reading list and found a copy at a local book sale!!
I had loved the humor of Erma Bombeck and Nora Ephron, and Jean is just as fun!
Since this is an older book, Jean's references to the cost of items were worth many smiles!!
I had loved the humor of Erma Bombeck and Nora Ephron, and Jean is just as fun!
Since this is an older book, Jean's references to the cost of items were worth many smiles!!
July 18, 2017
Found this while on a road trip; laughed and laughed and passed it on to my 16yo daughter, which cannot be done with a lot of current humor. She laughed, also. I miss Jean Kerr. There need to be more humorists who have or are raising children, and are matter-of-fact about the joys and challenges of doing so, and whose books are available in cheap paperbacks free at rest stops on the highway. Thanks to the Laramie library friends who donated books to the Lincoln monument rest stop on I-80!
February 6, 2020
I read this book many years ago. I remember it as being very funny and laughing as I read it.
March 14, 2010
In 1962 Mother, my brother and I took the freighter HMS Milora from Duluth-Superior to Bremenhaven, Germany and a flight from Bremen via Copenhagen to Olso, Norway in order to see our family there. Our base in Oslo was the duplex in which she grew up on Prestegardsv'n 1, near the new campus of the University.
I'd read all the books taken along at sea, that trip having taken several weeks owing to the locks and a German dock strike. That left me with little option but to search my grandparents' home for English books. Fortunately, Morfar Fin had retained the language and had material available. Some of it, his Playboy collection, was utterly fascinating, but not appropriate for public study. Some of it, such as the sayings of Epictetus, was a bit beyond my fourth-grade capacities. Some of it was not the kind of thing I'd normally pick up, but readable. Please Don't Eat the Daisies was in that class as were his back issues of The Reader's Digest.
Being a little kid still tied to home and mother probably helped me appreciate a lot of Kerr's domestic humor. In any case, I thought some of it funny. Later, fortunately, I found a English language section of the local library which had Orwell and a paperback store which had books for tourists, so the quality of my reading improved over the summer.
I'd read all the books taken along at sea, that trip having taken several weeks owing to the locks and a German dock strike. That left me with little option but to search my grandparents' home for English books. Fortunately, Morfar Fin had retained the language and had material available. Some of it, his Playboy collection, was utterly fascinating, but not appropriate for public study. Some of it, such as the sayings of Epictetus, was a bit beyond my fourth-grade capacities. Some of it was not the kind of thing I'd normally pick up, but readable. Please Don't Eat the Daisies was in that class as were his back issues of The Reader's Digest.
Being a little kid still tied to home and mother probably helped me appreciate a lot of Kerr's domestic humor. In any case, I thought some of it funny. Later, fortunately, I found a English language section of the local library which had Orwell and a paperback store which had books for tourists, so the quality of my reading improved over the summer.
May 13, 2013
This book was so poorly OCRd by Google it became distracting enough to lose a star
I LOVE Jean Kerr. I am old enough to remember the sitcom with Patricia Crowly as the Mom and a big ol sheepdog as Lad a Dog. Kerr was a prolific comedic writer , living on Long Island. She did have 4 children. I LOVE the description of why she became a writer:so she could sleep till the crack of noon.
This is a short fun read.
I LOVE Jean Kerr. I am old enough to remember the sitcom with Patricia Crowly as the Mom and a big ol sheepdog as Lad a Dog. Kerr was a prolific comedic writer , living on Long Island. She did have 4 children. I LOVE the description of why she became a writer:so she could sleep till the crack of noon.
This is a short fun read.
May 7, 2009
This is definitely at the top of all of my book lists. It's just a series of short essays about the life of the mother of a family of four. But it looks at the funny side of life. Jean Kerr recognizes the parts of life that overwhelm us all and shows you that there's something to laughing through life. You don't ever think to tell your kids "Please don't eat the daisies"
November 6, 2016
My copy of this book belonged to my granny, and it was among her favorites. Reading it was like having her read it to me. The author's style is so like my granny's that it was pure joy. This was the kind of book I could take with me to appointments and read a bit at a time without too much concentration.
August 30, 2024
un vecchio libro molto divertente
April 20, 2020
It’s a short fun read, in some parts really hilarious, in some others not so much.
Probably cz I didn’t know or recognize all the characters she is referring to.
My favorite paragraph is : "The real menace in dealing with a five-year-old is that in no time at all you begin to sound like a five-year-old. Let’s say you hear a loud, horrifying crash from the kid’s bedroom, so you shout up:
“In heaven’s name, what was that?”
“What?”
“That awful noise.”
“What noise?”
“You didn’t hear that noise?”
“No. Did you?”
“Of course I did—I just told you.”
“What did it sound like?”
“Never mind what it sounded like. Just stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Whatever you’re doing.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Stop it anyway!”
“I’m brushing my teeth. Shall I stop that?”
Obviously, this way lies madness. Personally, I knew I had to win this battle of dialectics or seek psychiatric care."
Probably cz I didn’t know or recognize all the characters she is referring to.
My favorite paragraph is : "The real menace in dealing with a five-year-old is that in no time at all you begin to sound like a five-year-old. Let’s say you hear a loud, horrifying crash from the kid’s bedroom, so you shout up:
“In heaven’s name, what was that?”
“What?”
“That awful noise.”
“What noise?”
“You didn’t hear that noise?”
“No. Did you?”
“Of course I did—I just told you.”
“What did it sound like?”
“Never mind what it sounded like. Just stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Whatever you’re doing.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Stop it anyway!”
“I’m brushing my teeth. Shall I stop that?”
Obviously, this way lies madness. Personally, I knew I had to win this battle of dialectics or seek psychiatric care."
October 31, 2020
Really cute!
July 14, 2014
I humbly entreat everyone to go out and get some Jean Kerr books. Pretty please. She's so funny and timeless. One of the pieces here is about writers fleeing the City for the country and a chance to really Live. I don't know which books she may have been referring to, but it could have been published in the New Yorker in the past year, and it would suit. Some of the pieces mention the children, and the tone is quite similar to Shirley Jackson's Life Among the Savages / Raising Demons, which I also love.
Let me just add that if she were alive now, her blog would be very popular.
***
You know, there's nothing quite as meta and amusing as being interrupted while reading an essay about the child who won't go to be (and stay there)by a child who won't go to bed (and stay there). "This is the last time I'm going to come in here, I swear," she says, and then proceeds to spend twenty minutes looking over my shelves for anything good to read. Strangely, they were not now packed with scads of new and tasty treats. Because I long ago gave all my childhood books to the girls, and the only ones I've gotten back are the ones they didn't care to keep. Eh, that's not entirely true. I have some signed copies that are MINE and may not be removed from the room.
***
Last night over dinner we had to have a very brief discussion about poaching. It is not acceptable to pick up someone else's book (whether an owned book or a library book) and start reading it without permission. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson is extremely tempting, but poaching will get your arms bitten off.
Let me just add that if she were alive now, her blog would be very popular.
***
You know, there's nothing quite as meta and amusing as being interrupted while reading an essay about the child who won't go to be (and stay there)by a child who won't go to bed (and stay there). "This is the last time I'm going to come in here, I swear," she says, and then proceeds to spend twenty minutes looking over my shelves for anything good to read. Strangely, they were not now packed with scads of new and tasty treats. Because I long ago gave all my childhood books to the girls, and the only ones I've gotten back are the ones they didn't care to keep. Eh, that's not entirely true. I have some signed copies that are MINE and may not be removed from the room.
***
Last night over dinner we had to have a very brief discussion about poaching. It is not acceptable to pick up someone else's book (whether an owned book or a library book) and start reading it without permission. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson is extremely tempting, but poaching will get your arms bitten off.
July 17, 2022
I actually have a 1962 paperback copy. Price was 35 cents!
I used to read this book over and over when I was a kid. I found it hilarious.
I especially liked how the author knew the family from the book Karen; they both lived in the same area.
I noted that on page 120 of my copy of Please Don't Eat the Daisies, there's a reference to "Karen." Actually, looked again and it's a reference to Karen's younger brother Rory.
Martha Blanchard's drawings are always entertaining and so is Jean Kerr's writing. But I suspect the humor is extremely dated at this point, although families & children do share so much through all generations, I'm sure some of the book would still seem funny.
I used to read this book over and over when I was a kid. I found it hilarious.
I especially liked how the author knew the family from the book Karen; they both lived in the same area.
I noted that on page 120 of my copy of Please Don't Eat the Daisies, there's a reference to "Karen." Actually, looked again and it's a reference to Karen's younger brother Rory.
Martha Blanchard's drawings are always entertaining and so is Jean Kerr's writing. But I suspect the humor is extremely dated at this point, although families & children do share so much through all generations, I'm sure some of the book would still seem funny.
July 10, 2019
I read Jean Kerr’s Please Don’t Eat the Daisies decades ago (it was originally published in 1957) and remembered it fondly, so when I saw an ebook version wander by (from Open Road Media) I grabbed it. And the book is just as funny as I remembered. The title comes from one of her essays about raising children (the inspiration for a movie), but much of the short book is about writing (Kerr was a respected playwright, her husband a drama critic) and life in general. I hope Open Road rescues Kerr’s other books (The Snake Has All the Lines, Penny Candy), which also appear to be long out of print.
September 29, 2007
Have read most of her books several times. To me she is sort of the "pre-Erma Bombeck" who wrote of the unvarnished struggle for a woman to raise children, keep house, and try to have a career in the 50's and 60's. Her sarcasm and humor carry well and are not to dated, though some of her references definitely are (I love Bosco, thats the brand for me) LOL. Easy to read style and great sense of humor.
December 10, 2008
This is a book of essays I picked up at a small-town library book sale in Oregon. Most of the essays are on motherhood. The book and the author's life are the basis for the Doris Day classic by the same title. Many essays on motherhood get sappy, or sarcastic, or long-suffering. Jean Kerr got it just right. I would have loved to have been a visitor in her home. I'll definitely look for more essay compilations by her.
September 4, 2015
For some reason this just wasn't as humorous as I'd expected it to be. It read a bit dated and I would sometimes "slip away" while reading and realized at the end there were very few stories where I felt truly "connected." It was as if the only time I was truly absorbed was when I had had similar experiences.
July 30, 2016
I have loved the movie for many years and didn't realize there was a book that was written before the movie was ever done! I found the short essays fun to read at my leisure, well written as well as very funny! What a slice of a different time in America! I was born in the 1950s roughly around the time these essays were written. An unexpectedly delightful read, enjoy!
September 1, 2007
Laughed myself silly.
August 26, 2013
This was fun. Her stories have a clever bite to them. I preferred the ones that were more like personal anecdotes over the fictitious ones.
October 17, 2025
This book was hilarious! So much fun!!!!
November 8, 2022
This is a collection of humorous essays by Kerr, only a few of which actually pertain to what became the movie and T.V. show featuring her children and their odd home in Connecticut. It is fairly dated in its references. I googled quite a bit - Betty Furness, Maude Adams, etc., but overall found the essays amusing even when they were far outside my wheelhouse. I laughed out loud more than once. Jean Kerr must have been pretty cool in the '50s and '60s. She wasn't a housewife (neither was Doris Day for that matter). She did a pretty good spoof on Micky Spillane and Françoise Sagan.
October 25, 2025
A very uneven reading experience and I'm not sure why it was popular.
The first half harps on parents vs children tropes. Perhaps this was considered clever at the time but its rather tired out now. It is not without a certain old-fashioned charm but it's not what I'd call funny.
The next several chapters are about developing a stage production from a book by the author/her husband. Archaic references and citations made this section drag.
The book ends with more family tropes, unfortunately these are less funny than the ones at the beginning of the book.
I really wanted to like this one 😕
The first half harps on parents vs children tropes. Perhaps this was considered clever at the time but its rather tired out now. It is not without a certain old-fashioned charm but it's not what I'd call funny.
The next several chapters are about developing a stage production from a book by the author/her husband. Archaic references and citations made this section drag.
The book ends with more family tropes, unfortunately these are less funny than the ones at the beginning of the book.
I really wanted to like this one 😕
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews