Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses

by J. Patrick Lewis, Simon Bartram (Illustrator)

Clever puns and elaborately detailed, surreal artwork illuminate a collection of comically grim verses that can't help but tickle the funny bone.

Reader, if I had more time
I'd say au revoir in rhyme,
Sayonara, ciao in verse —
But I have to catch a hearse.

Peek inside Once Upon a Tomb and find twenty-two poems, each of which tells, in hilarious verse, the story of an untimely demise — from a school principal to a bully, a food critic to a cafeteria lady, an underwear salesman to a soccer player. Complemented by Simon Bartram's deadpan illustrations, J. Patrick Lewis's cryptic tour of headstones and epitaphs is silly, spooky — and far from grave.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Death, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 11, 2006

About the author

J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate. He has written more than seventy children's books, including Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses. J. Patrick Lewis lives in Ohio.