If dark humor is not your thing, don’t read this post.  Today’s poetry picture book is a funny look at epitaphs.

“Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs” is dark humor at its finest, as even the cover shows.  It’s a look at the last moments of animals’ lives in strange but funny circumstances.  If you watch a lot of TV murder shows (like I do), then dark humor is no stranger to you (as it isn’t to me).  BUT there’s a chance that not everyone thinks like this and some might not get it.  That was a risk that J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen were willing to take in writing this book and I’m SO glad they did.

This is a series of poems (yes in a picture book!) all about the macbre: death of animals.  And yet they somehow found the funny in a ton of scenarios (not just in word play).  Illustrator Jeffrey Stewart Timmins had fun (I’m sure!) illustrating these scenes.  First, I will share ONE poem here (or rather one page as they’re short poems and this page has two poems on it):

Then to prove that kids would find this funny, I share an OLD cartoon I drew way back when I was younger:

I didn’t say it was a good cartoon, but obviously the kid in me got the humor they were going for in this picture book.  (Just ignore the cartoon on the page behind it showing through.)  LOL!

And if you’re looking for more poetry fun this month, be sure to check out the Kidlitosphere Event Roundup!