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Ten Copycats in a Boat, and Other Riddles
A collection of riddles selected from folklore around the world.
68 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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About the author
Alvin Schwartz
76 books733 followersAlvin^Schwartz
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Alvin Schwartz was the author of more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers. He is often confused with another Alvin_Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman daily comics strips and a novel titled The Blowtop.
For Batman - See: Alvin^^Schwartz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Alvin Schwartz was the author of more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers. He is often confused with another Alvin_Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman daily comics strips and a novel titled The Blowtop.
For Batman - See: Alvin^^Schwartz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 19, 2019
A clever selection of riddles that tease, concerning animals, people and objects with nice supporting illustrations from Marc Simont.
The title illustration opens proceedings with the 10 copycats sitting in their boat when one jumped out. The question then is 'How many were left?' I thought, well that's easy, nine! Wrong! And I am sure you will know the correct answer!
The other riddles are more straightforward such as, 'If you put four ducks in a box, what would you have?' Answer, 'A box of quackers.' And I feel sure everyone will know the answer to 'What always sleeps with its shoes on?' Also, 'How many sides has a glass of lemonade?' [or Vimto for that matter!]. An easy, if somewhat tenuous one, is that little conundrum.
A little obtuse is 'Where does Friday come before Thursday?' It needs an explanatory illustration, as well as the wording, to demonstrate the answer to this one. And quite amusing is 'Why shouldn't you tell secrets on a farm?' The answer is because 'The corn has ears. The potatoes have eyes. And the beanstalk.'
I will leave you working out 'What is the longest word in the world?' And to give you a clue, the answer is only six letters long! Happy working out!
'Ten Copycats' is a bit of fun, especially for the youngsters who, I feel sure, would find some of the answers most amusing.
The title illustration opens proceedings with the 10 copycats sitting in their boat when one jumped out. The question then is 'How many were left?' I thought, well that's easy, nine! Wrong! And I am sure you will know the correct answer!
The other riddles are more straightforward such as, 'If you put four ducks in a box, what would you have?' Answer, 'A box of quackers.' And I feel sure everyone will know the answer to 'What always sleeps with its shoes on?' Also, 'How many sides has a glass of lemonade?' [or Vimto for that matter!]. An easy, if somewhat tenuous one, is that little conundrum.
A little obtuse is 'Where does Friday come before Thursday?' It needs an explanatory illustration, as well as the wording, to demonstrate the answer to this one. And quite amusing is 'Why shouldn't you tell secrets on a farm?' The answer is because 'The corn has ears. The potatoes have eyes. And the beanstalk.'
I will leave you working out 'What is the longest word in the world?' And to give you a clue, the answer is only six letters long! Happy working out!
'Ten Copycats' is a bit of fun, especially for the youngsters who, I feel sure, would find some of the answers most amusing.
October 12, 2017
It was not what I expected when I opened the book, but it was cute.
March 5, 2020
A small collection of riddles based on folk-lore from around the world. Some as old as three hundred years old at the time of this publication from 1980.
December 28, 2014
We've read many books by Alvin Schwartz; our girls especially like his scary story collections. This is a fun collection of riddles that are very appropriate for children. We got many of them, but they still made us chuckle. It's a fun, fast read and we enjoyed reading it together.
September 15, 2011
When I saw this battered old copy at the library I had to check it out. I remember giggling over the riddles when it was newly published back in 1980. Now I'm sharing it with my son.
November 12, 2016
I guess it's nice to think that these stale old jokes will be fresh and new to kids.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews