Bedtime Story: Poems for Advanced Readers (Grades 5-7), Volume 2

by Brett Fleishman

A collection of 25 humorous poems designed for advanced readers (grades 5-7). Volume 2 of this series includes a poorly planned Treasure Hunt, a rather chaotic manure machine, a very competitive laundry-shooting game, and much, much more!

Paperback

Published November 8, 2018

About the author

Brett Fleishman grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. After graduating with a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University, Brett spent four years working in Cambridge and New York City. He then returned to Philadelphia, where he graduated with an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania. Since then, Brett has been living with his two sons, Jacob and Dylan, in the greater Boston area and working at an
investment management firm in Boston.

(Please note that, while Brett and his sons enjoy living in Boston, their sports allegiances remain firmly Philadelphian.)

Reviews

[Andrex]

One word could describe this book - AWFUL!
Humorous? No! Sets good morals? No! In the poem $10 decision, Papa is asking his three children:
"If you saw a person drop 10 dollars on the ground
Would you keep the money or return what you had found?"
One son says he would keep it, one says he would return it, the other doesn't know. Papa's response?
"I'm not sure whose answer's right. It's kind of tough to say.
It's not always clear. At times there will be shades of gray!"

SO let me turn this around and ask you, if you dropped $10 on the ground and someone saw you, would you appreciate them returning it to you? I would!

The Town Pool poem shares the story of a boy that stripped off his trunks seven days in a row, swimming naked and outwitting the lifeguards.

Bedtime Story illustrates a father lying to his daughter.

I was NOT impressed with this poetry book of poems at all. There are WAY better ones out there. The poems are not funny nor are they easy to read due to the cadence/rhyme or lack thereof at times. Punctuation is so very sporadic setting a VERY poor example for our middle grade children. Give this one miss would be my advice. I was provided with an advanced copy of this book by the publisher. That has not influenced my review which consists of my own thoughts and opinions. Thanks, Liz

[Gina Fugate]

*I received a FREE copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Ellen!!

Things I liked about this book:

▪Cute, often LOL poems
▪Great illustrations accompanying every poem
▪Creativity of the author
▪Length of poems/content appropriate for audience (Kids grade 5-7)
▪The facts I learned in the Famous People Day poem
▪The fart poem (Christopher Blass) bc I have an older brother 🙈🤣

Things I didn't care for:

▪The extensive use of puns and idioms. While I enjoy an occasional pun or idiom, to me the wordplay became expected therefore making the endings/messages predictable and therefore less funny

▪The manure poem (although kinda funny) was just gross. Same with the one involving body parts and the overt rudeness of Omelette Jeff

▪Not knowing how it all turns out in the Pond Jumping poem bothers me lol

▪The zany word blenders - though useful to keep the mind sharp - seemed out of place to me in a book of poetry. (Maybe it's just bc I had to CHEAT and peek at a few of the answers in the back of the book? Haha)

Overall, I gave this book 4/5 stars and would definitely recommend it to kids of this age or even adults looking for a humorous break from the every day perils of adulting.

[GSMC Book Review Podcast]

Have a kid in your life who thinks poetry is"boring?" Have them read this book! Fleishman does a great job creating poetry that is funny, educational, entertaining, and creative. The poems will make readers think (Fleishman loves puns, word puzzles (which can be quite challenging!), similes, etc) in addition to making them laugh. These poems are great for introducing older readers to poetry as a form of expression. I also love the fact that he includes poems from students in the same age groups in each of his collections. What better way to inspire a budding poet?

[Alex Casale]

I'm impressed by Fleishman's ability to elegantly weave rhymes around characters and stories that resonate with kids. This is an ideal book for my 7th grade son, who doesn't like to read for long periods of time. He can read one or two poems at a time while advancing his appreciation for wordplays. In addition, the explanations of idioms and puns in the back of the book are an opportunity for me to throw in some quick lessons that he can apply at school.

[K.L. Bernard]

Poetry with its rhyme can be fun to read, but this guide is more than that. Author Brett Fleishman along with illustrator Sam White have created a fun poetry read for kids ages 5-7. Inside these pages, readers will find wordplays with puns and idioms with cheeky illustrations. The challenge in all of these poems isn’t just the poetry but the puzzles.

[Books Forward]

Fleishman was written a wonderful work of poetry. Children and even adults will love the hilarious illustrations and poems in all of the books. The scenarios in his books are funny and interesting enough to talk to your child about.

[Marissa DeCuir]

These books are absolutely some of the cutest works of children's literature that I have ever read. I love that he has books from kindergarten to seventh grade. I definitely would have enjoyed Fleishman's books as a kid. This would be the perfect gift for any child with a great sense of humor.

[Nancy Shepherd]

This book is one of a set that I received free through a Goodreads giveaway. It contains humorous poems suitable for middle grade readers, and it has an appendix with explanations of literary devices which appear in those poems. This appendix is a plus!

[Ellen Whitfield]

All of the books in this series are so much fun! I love that they're interesting for the kids and provide lessons, but I still felt engaged and amused as an adult. I had a couple literal lols, which is rare for me with books!