It's Hard Out Here For a Shrimp: Life, Love & Living Large

by Jim Lewis

Pepe the King Prawn isn't any ordinary shrimp. He's a lothario, a linguist, and a specialist at looking on the bright side of life-- especially when it means twisting or turning a situation so it works in his favor! In this book, he will teach you how to do the same for yourself. He offers a plethora of thorough advice on parties, relationships, careers, love, friendship, and life in general-- there is something in here for everyone! Pepe's thoughts on friendship? "Love comes and goes .but friendship is forever, or at least until they run out of money and places to take you. Building lifelong relationships with people who aren't related to you or attractive to you is a strange habit, but one that's hard to shake. Here's how I deal with it..."
Laugh-out-loud funny and in his authentic, Spanish-accented voice, Pepe's musings and guidance will delight readers of all ages with this fantastic comic relief! Served up with hot, fresh, and filled with wit, pith and a dash of salsa this is Pepe's guide to life, love and living large! From family to friendship to romance and everything is between, Pepe's words of wisdom are served up in fun and witty quotes and advice told with his signature brand of humor.

Genres: Humor, Fiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2008

About the author

Jim Lewis (born 1955) is an American writer known for his work with The Jim Henson Company and The Muppets. Lewis first worked with the Muppets as the editor of Muppet Magazine. The book Before You Leap, which was credited to Kermit the Frog, was written by Lewis. The Disney Channel program Studio DC: Almost Live was produced by him. Jim Lewis grew up in Boonton, New Jersey and attended Boonton High School.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Holly Foskett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve ever read, okay.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite so far:

What the Womens Want.

Women want to feel
you feel what they feel,
even if you don't feel
like feeling how they feel.
(I know this makes no sense, but it works. Trust me on this, okay.)

I'm loving this book.

Okay, done.. and while the initial hype of the book was 'HOLY BALLS! A PEPE BOOK!!!' it wasn't all that I thought it would be, okay?


The advice was pretty bland and maybe I chuckled once or twice, but the 'okays' were definitely worth it. Okay?

[MORTICA B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this on my first trip to Disney pepe is my second favorite Muppet Kermit is my absolute favorite but I read this book it was hysterical I wanted more

[chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favourite quote has to be “life is a party, don’t be the piñata”. pepe has taught me many a life lesson and i am forever in the king prawn’s debt. i will offer him my soul in exchange for this wisdom. i love you.

[Teresa Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I had NO idea what to expect when I picked this book up at the library this morning. I knew who Pepe was, being a Muppets fan, but this book is a riot. If you need cheering up, this is the book to do it.

Pepe is a King Prawn, arrogant, self-absorbed, and a ladies' man. He offers advice on many different subjects, and I will give you a few examples:

LIFE CHOICES: Life is a party. Don't be the pinata.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Never ask out the woman who just finished talking to your ex-girlfriend, okay.

Love, Pepe Style: WHAT THE WOMENS WANT: Women want to feel you feel what they feel, even if you don't feel like feeling how they feel. (I know this makes no sense, but it works. Trust me on this, okay.)

HOW TO TELL SHE'S ALREADY BROKEN UP WITH YOU: She's not returning your calls...or your car. 2) Those pesky restraining orders.

Pepe says monies is good, especially if it is someone else's and they are spending it on you. Not so good if you are spending your monies on them. He also feels it is very important to have self-awareness: "You need to know who you are inside, otherwise you might be a victim of identity theft."

From fashion to family to getting in touch with your inner Pepe, he offers some of the goofiest advice you will ever read. Yet some of it does make sense, especially this one: Life Annoyance #7: Traffic Cops - Never ever argue with anyone who wears mirrors over his eyes.

It's not a very long book, but if you've got the blues, it will cheer you up quickly. When you read it, make sure you are using an Italian accent, okay. It is much funnier that way.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was destined to enjoy this book because Pepe is my favorite Muppet. If this had been an audio book read by Pepe, it would have been hilarious. Stylistically, it felt like watching a stand-up act by someone like Rodney Dangerfield or Henny Youngman - one-liners delivered with a combination of goofiness and cynicism. As it was, I thought the one-liners were pretty good and I just tried to keep Pepe’s voice in my head while I read. I think that anyone who does not already love Pepe wouldn’t really appreciate the book, but it worked for me. Note: This book is not intended to be kid-friendly.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pepe and I are a lot alike, 'cept I like the mens and he likes the womens.

[Greg Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you read the title, saw the cover and still chose to read it, you got what you asked for.

[Alaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've wanted to read this book since before it was released. I finally got my hands on a copy last August, and finally read it today. Um, yikes. This was published in 2008 but it somehow manages to be extremely cringy and dated. Not sure why I thought it was going to be a faux bio. It's actually a series of little quips and bits of wisdom if you want to call it that, which is why it's a very quick read. I still love Pepe but I was not a fan of the book and am going to be donating it to the Little Free Library in my neighborhood. Disappointing.

ETA: I came back and changed my two-star rating to one star because I am salty about how bad this book was.

[Kevin Stuntz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pepe for life ❤️

[MAS · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite excerpts:
From Chapter 2: Love Pepe Style- Romancing the Prawn:
“How to Talk to Womens: for an Intellectual type of woman… say ‘You got nice big brains, okay.’”

10/10- it’s a great book, okay

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so I watched the movie Muppets From Space (shut up) and kind of enjoyed it (shut up!), being especially intrigued by this new character Pepe The King Prawn, whom I was completely unfamiliar with. Doing some research on youtube, I found he was from the short-lived Muppet Show revival, Muppets Tonight!, and that he was on a couple of talk shows promoting this book. I wasn't sure if the book actually existed, or if it was just a joke on those talk shows--like, the fact that a Muppet was promoting a book was really just a joke to get him on TV to promote a Muppet made-for-TV movie. As it turns out though, it IS a real book.

And it's...well, it's not very good. It's a weird collection of advice, aphorisms, jokes and sayings, but since the charm of the Muppets tends to be their voices and performances, it doesn't translate all that well into prose. On the other hand, it's the first non-picture book I think I've ever been able to read in one sitting, so it's not like I wasted much time on it.

Pretty funny title, though.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little of this one at a time is fun, but not a book to sit down and read in one sitting. I'm sure that's not how it's intended, either, but that's just how it worked out for me. It's fun at the beginning, but the conceit gets a little wearying after a while. Also, I was reading an ARC so I'm hoping parts were updated for consistency before publishing. The "voice" of Pepe the King Prawn is inconsistent throughout--and perhaps this was the biggest issue. The parts where the character came through strongly were good. Thanks to my sister for sending it to me! It was a fun one.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a whole this book is pretty "meh". I think I got my hopes up a little too high and was expecting more (both in content and in length). That being said, there were a few quips that made me chuckle, and this book serves as a great reminder that Muppets aren't always aimed towards kids (harkens back to the good old days of The Muppet Show, which definitely wasn't aimed towards kids). If you're looking for a very quick, kind of fun read, give this a try, though I wouldn't go out of my way to get my hands on it, personally.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very funny for what it is-- simply a series of short sayings from the Muppets Pepe the king prawn. His introduction is also hilarious. The book is very short and easy to read since there's not much to it. I borrowed it from the library and was quite pleased with my time spent reading it. Pepe never fails to crack me up.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book measures up to everything an adult muppet fan would want, but has nothing to offer for young readers, in my opinion. Unlike the multi-age humor Pepe conveys in the context of a multiple muppet adventure sequence, as a stand-alone his humor is much more sardonic and even a little cynical. It cracked me up in places, but read it before sharing with children.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title alone cracked me up. Not meant to be a serious piece I literature, but definitely good for a laugh! Includes such gems as, "The optimist says the glass is half full. The pessimist says the glass is half empty. I say, if it ain't a mojito, I'm not drinking it either way, okay. "

[Tresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um, I'm pretty sure this has to be the greatest book ever...

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Pepe the King Prawn on Muppets Tonight. But this little advice book was filled with more cliches than original one-liners. On the upside, you can read the whole book on your lunch hour.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about no ordinary shrimp!
He's a ladies' prawn. ;)
He is known for his hilarious, he is guiding you through the tough and good.
It's terribly funny!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect thing to read when you just need a laugh.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the Miss Piggy book.. very silly, totally pointless, but oddly amusing.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't go wrong with words of wisdom from Pepe.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fastest read ever. I only have vague memories of this Muppet. Vaguely amusing.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little book to pass the time with. And the shrimp's (King Prawn, sorry) advice makes sense too.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of "Before You Leap" to see my opinion of this one.

[K Todd Ramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

He is not a shrimp.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny for what it is...