Oliver Herford

Hoping to preserve peace in his kingdom by bolstering the natural timidity of his subjects, the king of the bunnies offers his daughter's hand in marriage to the most timid bunny in the land.

Yes, the words "Rubaiyat" and "Persian" both appear in the title, but this book owes less to Edward FitzGerald than it does to Edward Lear.

A humorous collection of definitions for words relating to love. For example: ADAMANT, m. A very hard word. See father. DUEL. The highest compliment two men can pay one woman. ETERNITY. “I’ll be down in a minute.” KINDNESS. The larger half of the other boy’s apple. OCEANS. A minute measure of Love. SECRET. A feminine invention for the rapid dissemination of news. TEMPTATION. Woman. Anything forbidden. A challenge. An invitation to don’t.

Alphabet mixing whimsical verses and references to celebrities of the time or famous people from history.

Grades 7-9

Bill Bryson's second, achingly funny book, retracing his own steps as a student backpacking through Europe, twenty years later.Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither here Nor there he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hamemrfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to istanbul on the cusp of Asia. Fluent in, oh, at least one language, he retraces his travels as a student twenty years before.Whether braving the homicidal motorists of Paris, being robbed by gypsies in Florence, attempting not to order tripe and eyeballs in a German restaurant, window-shopping in the sex shops of the Reeperbahn or disputing his hotel bill in Copenhagen, Bryson takes in the sights, dissects the culture and illuminates each place and person with his hilariously caustic observations. He even goes to Liechtenstein.

"I like the fretful porcupine Deception is not in his line. With him there is no make believe, He wears his thorns upon his sleeve. The fascinating assortment of beasts in these whimsical verses has delighted generations of young readers. Consider the useful ant "who has no time to gallivant"; the noble horse, whose virtues "are too numerous to tell, save when you have a horse to sell" and the geese beneath a tree, gathered around the goose-girl's knee, "while she reads them by the hour from the works of Schopenhauer." Forty-eight poems, each accompanied by a vibrant two-color illustration, ponder swan songs, crocodile tears, leopards incapable of changing their spots, and other captivating notions associated with the animal kingdom. Author and illustrator Oliver Herford (1863-1935), known as "The American Oscar Wilde," enjoyed international renown as an artist and wit. His timeless drawings and rhymes brought a unique perspective and a richness of imagination to children's literature that can be appreciated by readers of all ages"--