First published in 1969, this classic work of verbal and visual wordplay reappears in essentially the same form, just a bit brighter because previously white pages are now colored. Children might call the contents puzzlers, jokes, very short stories and plays, and weird stuff, like the page with these words on both sides, What is written on the other side of this page is wrong. Or the spread showing sailing ships in decreasing sizes, with these words repeated in a spiral, edging down to illegibly small print: It was a dark and stormy night. Ww were standing on the deck. The ship was sinking. The captain said to me, tell me a story, my son.' And so I began.It was a dark and stormy night. We were standing. . . .' Too long out of print, this creative book will challenge and charm a new generation of children. (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1997)

This picture book is a collection of circle stories, riddles, and very short verses and plays that amuse and puzzle with their antic absurdities. Watercolors and line drawings in pale rainbow colors exude as highly developed a sense of play as do the words. Demanding repeated readings, this inventive volume yields many small delights.