Review of "The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts and More Beasts For Worse Children and A Moral Alphabet," by Hilaire Belloc

 Review of

The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts and More Beasts For Worse Children and A Moral Alphabet, by Hilaire Belloc

Four out of five stars

Humorous nonsense verse for children

 Using some made-up words and others that really do not go together very well, the author has created a book that will amuse and entertain children. Especially if it is read to them by an adult with any talent in theatrics. There are also many puns.

 For example, there is the brief segment:

“I shoot the Hippopotamus with bullets of platinum. Because if I use leaden ones his hide is sure to flatten ‘em.”

There is also a short segment called “The Camelopard.” It is about a giraffe.

 The book is divided into short sections of verse about living creatures, mostly animals. Detailed illustrations that often exaggerate the features of the referenced animals accompany each section of verse. The text is generally not simple, speaking it aloud will challenge the young reader both in understanding and speaking it.