Paper Doorway : Funny Verse and Nothing Worse

by Dean Koontz

Following the success of Santa's Twin, Koontz presents a richly imaginative book of poems with fanciful black-and-white drawings that take readers on a romp through the twists and turns of the imagination.

Genres: Poetry, Humor, Childrens, Horror, Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade

Library Binding

First published September 13, 2001

About the author

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Facebook: Facebook.com/DeanKoontzOfficial
Twitter: @DeanKoontz
Website: DeanKoontz.com

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful collection of poems for children; I'm anxious to pass it along to granddaughters. Some are just silly and whimsical, some make some poignant observations, but they're all amusing and entertaining. Koontz, of all people, channels Silverstein with a wry flavor of Addams. (Spoiler warning!... and I'm sure I never thought I'd insert a spoiler warning for a volume of kids' verse... spoiler warning!) The last poem in the book reveals that each of the many, many delightful illustrations by Phil Parks that accompany Koontz's poems contains a mouse somewhere. Some are hidden, some are subtle, some are right up front and staring back at you. It was quite a surprise and a very well devised bonus. I spent about twice as long going back through the book a second time trying to find all of the mice, and I never did spot them all. Fun stuff!

[C.P. Cabaniss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors, so when I stumbled across this at the book store I had to have it. And it was fantastic!

The poetry has the signature Koontz style but without as much darkness as his novels, since this is intended for children. It's very humorous, thought provoking, and the illustrator was great.

More thoughts can be read here: http://courtneysreads.blogspot.com/20...

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book of poems for grades 3-6 by, of all people, Dean Koontz. They are just quirky & irreverent enough to appeal to this age group. The poems rank right up there with works by Shel Silverstein & Jack Prelutsky. With such themes as: the confusion of plurals (if the plural of goose is geese, why isn't the plural of moose meese?); the difficulty in not daydreaming in school; and getting "pulled" into a good book, kids will find something in which they can relate. There are also some good "life lesson" poems such as the shallowness of seeing only the ugliness on a person's outside - not the inward beauty and getting your "just reward" for how you treat other people. I will definitely be using some of these poems in my small group instruction, because I think the kids will eat them up.

[Larry Brownlee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, Koontz has shown once again why he should stick to what he is good at, writing adult novels, and leave the children’s books to those who are good at it. I should have learned my lesson after reading his two Santa books. However, I am such a huge Koontz fan that I thought I would give him another chance with this book of poetry. Not a good choice. The rhymes are terrible and forced. It reads like he just wanted to crank them out as quickly as possible and didn’t care if there was any logic to the verse or not. While Dr. Seuss is charming, Koontz as a children’s poet is cringe worthy. I am a Koontz fan and will always be, but children’s books are definitely not his niche.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Koontz is one of my favorite authors. I knew this was poetry, but I did not realize it was aimed at children. As a child's poetry book it is silly in a childish way. I am surprised that Koontz , who is childless, can be so intuitive to children. This is good silly verse for the young. It is not his Book of Uncounted Sorrows.

[Tracy Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with humerous poems that would be great for teaching poetic devices in upper elementary or middle school. The illustrations are fabulous.

[Keshia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Jacqi Coon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because I had to read a poetry book and this is the first one I picked. This poetry book is very different. Some of the poems I didn't like, but some of them were really well wrote.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books from childhood. Full of fun and adventurous poems. Always brings warm memories.

[Jo Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great poems by Koontz. I loved so many of them, and my favorite is “The Paper Doorway.” I especially loved the poem at the end of the book regarding the hidden surprise. Clever!

[Adelaide · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a couple of these every single day! Dean Koontz is a master when it comes to word choices and sets images in your mind that just makes you smile.

[Amy Webster-Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

this reminded me of where the sidewalk ends, i like dean koontz, but i perfer his horror tohis stories, lol, i did like the illustrations in the book

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

children/young adult poetry

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another weird installation from Koontz. I prefer things to be neat and tidy, so it would suit me better if Koontz would stick to just one one genre - preferably Adult Horror - but Koontz seems to have a different life plan. And as I collect Koontz, this one is an important volume of my collection.

Now about the book itself. It was hard not to think of Shel Silverstein through the whole book. Silverstein is the king of juvenile poetry and Koontz definitely doesn’t dethrone him with this book. But it was way better than I was expecting. Each poem was cute and fun and wholesome. Only in one or 2 cases did Koontz screw up a perfectly sweet poem with a Koontzian twist of darkness. I was convinced this was a book of “children’s poetry” that was really just another way for Koontz to be quirky and dark, but what you see is what you get. There wasn’t anything in here you couldn’t read to a 5-year-old (who would probably love it).

My favorites were easily the title poem - The Paper Doorway, about escaping the real world to the world of books, and Snowland, about how snowmen don’t melt away at the end of winter, but instead move to a subterranean winter wonderland and stay there all summer long.

The illustrations were cute and imaginative. And I liked how the poems and jokes worked even without the drawings - the illustrations were just meant to enhance. I seem to remember Silverstein’s jokes didn’t land until you analyzed the drawings that went along with each poem.

Anyway, it was a fun, quick read. And fairly enjoyable even for someone who barely tolerates poetry.

(Reading Challenge category: A book of poetry)

[Alex Telander · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I heard about The Paper Doorway I thought Dean Koontz had had a midlife crisis or something and decided to start writing children’s books, but apparently this is his second delving into the world of the littleluns, having published another children’s book, Santa’s Twin. And now he brings us this ditty, wonderfully illustrated by Phil Sparks, as you are taken into a world that has a different dimension on every page, approaching the scary and horrific in places, but then jumping back to the humorous and plain zany!

The Monstrous Broccoli Excuse

You see, I don’t like broccoli.
And broccoli does not like me.
It crawls into my room at night
Giving me a monstrous fright.

It scratches at the closet door,
Slithers-rustles across the floor.
This vegetable terminator
Has escaped the refrigerator.

This isn’t merely in my head.
It is really there under my bed.
Oh, Mom, how can I eat, you see,
A fearsome food that would eat me?

Originally published on April 1st 2002.

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[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently gave my 12 year old son the assignment to reflect on poetry that he had recently read. His response was that he could not do the assignment, as he did not like poetry and had never really read any poetry.

My response to him went something like this “but you love poetry, and you recently were telling me about all the great little ‘stories’ you were reading in your Dean Koontz book.”
His response “That’s not poetry, I liked that book. It was full of funny little stories.”

We had a long discussion after about how poetry takes on many forms and brings many different emotions. The emotions that were felt with Koontz’s poetry made my son feel happy. All poetry is not like that and my son did later admit he enjoys poetry, especially Koontz’s poetry.

“The Paper Doorway” is filled with humorous, whimsical poetry for children of all ages. There are wonderful illustrations on nearly each page and each illustration contains a mouse for your child to find.

This is a must have book for all young readers which will expose them to the joys of poetry.

[Tina Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw a book of poetry by Dean Koontz, I had to check it out. This is a great book to read with children, and is a wonderful gift for kids who are past the nursery rhyme stage but not quite ready for the complexities of adult poetry. Koontz's The Paper Doorway, is just the thing to pique a child's interest in learning about and enjoying poems.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I know Dean Koontz is very much that mystery/suspense writer, but if you want to get kids hooked into poetry that is not just Shel Silverstein (who I definitely love!), you need to get your hands on this book! Some are incredibly humorous others are slightly on the more sentimental note. Definitely a must read!

[Charissa Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview: Mr. Koontz has another children’s title, this time we are gifted with a group of poems.

Likes: Both Mr. Koontz and Mr. Parks worked well together to bring the poems to life for younger audiences. There’s even a bit of interactivity included as Mr. Parks has hidden a mouse or two in every picture.

Conclusion: This was a fun book. I never did find all of the mice though.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this for the kids cuz imma huge Dean Koontz fan and I don't know if they cared for it much...needless to say i really loved it and it found a home on my shelf

yay for an author breaking out of the norm

[Kayla Buchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was silly and a nice quick read. I am finding that the older I get, the more I am enjoying funny verse rather than regular verse. Also, the illustrations by Phil Parks, were wonderful and definitely helped make the book that much more fun.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost always enjoy anything Koontz writes but this book of poetry just didn't touch me. Perhaps you really do need to be a child to enjoy this. Perhaps it is my mood but I really did not like any of these poems.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a few are a bit dark and feel very much like Dean Koontz, most of these are silly and my kids loved them...well the 10 year old and the 6 year old loved them, the older ones did not!

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked it

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of poems was funny and entertaining. I love poem books, and this was no different! The pictures really made it come to life!

[Tera (TheBookishAbyss) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, he certainly is no Shel Silverstein, but some of the poems were funny.

[Abbycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love poems, so I liked this book!

[Jennifer Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book of poetry for kids and Moms!

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun one by Koontz. I love his imagination.

[Kenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarous. Quick and easy read.