I'm usually a big fan of Tom Robbins, but this was a disappointment. There was the colorful language, the vivid imagery, the happy mockery, but this mix of fairytale and beer simply did not have the same pizazz and wit I've come to expect. A moral tale is Robbins' specialty but this one lacked subtlety. ( )

B is for Beer is basically Tom Robbins Lite. While there are hints and traces of the writing that makes Robbins such a wonderful writer, the high-minded philosophical thoughts are toned down.

Nevertheless, what's left is still a highly amusing and entertaining story that does encourage the reader to look at the world with a skeptical eye. In fact, Robbins seems to have packed in an extra dose of political messages criticizing the ever-scary conservatives found in the United States.

The topic of the book and the intended audience - beer and kids - seems to be an obvious attempt at shocking people. Robbins admits as much at the end credits, noting that others thought he wouldn't "bloody dare". Robbins makes the book work - neither being outlandishly scandalous, nor pandering to more conservative readers.

B is for Beer is a nice change of pace for Robbins, but his fully adult fiction is so wonderful, it would be a shame for him to become too enamored of writing young adult fiction. This book is certainly a good read, but it doesn't take the place of a normal Robbins novel. ( )

I stopped reading Tom Robbins for the story years ago, but still love to read him for the pure delight of his prose and B is for Beer doesn't disappoint.

The story is simple - young Gracie gains a fascination from her nutty Uncle Moe about beer and the Beer Fairy visits to teach her more about it. The writing is the ultimate delight. Robbins is the all time master of the metaphor and supreme simile writer. I found myself smiling at phrase after phrase "a silk dress as red as a terrorism alert" "Each drizzly day limped into the next as if a falling can of Sapporo had broken the day's sunset toe and torn it's sunrise tendon". Read this book for the joy of the language, and you just might learn a few facts about beer in the process. ( )

I wonder if I've outgrown Tom Robbins? I haven't read one of his books in years, and I never enjoyed one of his books as much as I enjoyed my first, Still Life with Woodpecker.
BUt while there were some beautiful lines occasionally, for the most part I thought this entire book was silly and contrived. I don't see a child enjoying it, it is too snide. And Gracie was far too annoying for me to enjoy her, there was very little child-like about her. Over all this was a disappointment, and I'd only weakly recommend it it to die-hard fans of the author. ( )

"B is for Beer" is a whimsical story about a six year old girl named Gracie Perkel and her first encounters with beer. A less then savory home life sets the backdrop for her interactions with her uncle Moe the Philosopher (who first teaches her about beer, in the highest esteem), an angry sunday school teacher (who ridicules her for merely mentioning the stuff), and the beer fairy (who teaches little Gracie the "truth" about beer). ( )