The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse

This silly, raucous book features hilariously zany poems about all sorts of jobs, including gardener, Queen of England, banana picker, dictionary maker, bicycle champion, belly dancer, bubble bath tester, librarian, and even poet. The short poems are full of puns and silly jokes, which will appeal to kids of all ages, and are visually varied; the poems’ forms an integral part of the meaning. Students will giggle at the silliness and at the droll digital collages by illustrator Serge Bloch. Recommended for grades 2-6.

Curriculum: this book would make a terrific read aloud during a poetry unit, and as a model text for teaching concrete poetry and humorous poetry. Children could create equally silly professions and write poems to share about them.

Lewis, J.P. (2009). The underwear salesman and other jobs for better or verse. (S. Bloch, Illus.). New York: Atheneum Book for Young Readers.

Loved it. Laughed so hard while reading it.

I enjoyed the playfulness of this collection of poems about different types of jobs. ( )

This is a silly book of poetry describing a wide range of occupations such as plumbers, fashion designers, and librarians, even belly dancers, skyscraper window washers, and of course underwear salesmen. It has great art and each page will make you laugh. It has graphic design illustrations.

A book of poems based on career ideas, such as Underwear Salesman, highway line painter and philosopher.