If I Were in Charge the Rules Would Be Different

by James Proimos

A delightful collection of poetry, filled with hilarious characters including General Mary Rumpus, the leader of the war on vegetables, and Billy Snuglag, who picks teams as well as his nose, features odes to spaghetti, stinky feet, and baths.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books

76 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2001

About the author

James Proimos has yet to rescue a small human from a river, but he has written and illustrated many books for them. James splits his time between Los Angeles and Middleburg, Virginia.

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and I really loved this book. The poems are so funny and it was such a cool book. A few poems were of course a little bit immature (as a parent you always worry about teaching your kids the wrong life lessons), but that’s the point of the book of course so it was okay with me—it’s meant to be written by a kid and that tone and theme shows through.

[Tory Haberman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I Were In Charge the Rules Would Be Different by James Proimos is a book full of short poems that are most of the time, silly. Each page brings a new poem to the table from problems kids may face, hidden messages, and sometimes, just plain fun.

Each page starts with a new title to a poem and cartoon characters that represent each of the poems. All characters are drawn on a grey scale and the text at times on the page end up representing the actions of the characters. It is a very interesting take on words that the author added into the illustrations. Also, I like how inviting the front cover is with the title and the authors name being upside down from the other. Creates the sense that this book is going to be full of humor and an enjoyable read!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of poems was pretty fun although a little long for a bedtime story in my opinion. Should've tackled it during the day instead. Some were better than others (as usual in a poetry collection). My son asked for Paul Carolina flushes himself to China to be read again after we'd only gone 2 more poems into the book from it, so that was a clear favorite. I may have to memorize I Love The We of We of We because it's a beautiful poem about the love of a parent child relationship. Good, easy poetry for a preschooler with a little more attention span.

[Children's Literature Project · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of funny poems from a child's perspective. Titles include Ode to Spaghetti, Little Help, Halloween Logic, and My Feet Stink, Does your nose smell.

Classroom Uses:
- Teach Poetry
- Entertainment
- Figurative Language

Grades: 1-5
DRA: 34-38
Lexile: 600
GR: P

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!! Short poems very much reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's amazing writing in Where the Sidewalk Ends or A Light in the Attic. Lots of fun and lots of laughs.

[Carrie Charley Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and entertaining! Kids will want to reread these over and over.