Ogre in a Toga, by Geoffrey McSkimming

If I were a little Iced Vo-Vo,
then I guess my life would be crummy:
I’d sit around with others the same,
and end up in somebody’s tummy.

Poetry for children should be fun, and what could be more fun than rhymes filled with silliness? In Ogre in a Toga author Geoffrey McSkimming (best known for his Cairo Jim series) provides page after page of silliness, guaranteed to have young readers laughing aloud.

The offerings are varied, ranging from quick limericks to the five part tale of The Vicious Vicuna, and the subject matter is also varied. There are poems about cows, fleas, vicuña (this one had the reviewer scurrying for a dictionary to learn that the vicuña is a real South American animal), as well as fantasy creatures such as the ogre, and plenty about people, too.

McSkimming’s verse is delightful to read and lends itself to oral reading and sharing. The hard cover format of the book and the comic line drawings of illustrator Martin Chatterton add to its child appeal.

Lots of fun.

Ogre in a Toga, by Geoffrey McSkimming
Scholastic Press, 2007