Please Don't Eat the Daisies

3.5 Stars

In my Doris Day phase I watched the film "based" on this book and was not amused. But Goodreads recommended the book to me because of some other humorous tales I liked so I found an ebook and settled down.

As much as I like Day and David Niven in general, I can only say that this film did the book and them a disservice. While the film seems to center on family drama and, in particular, Niven's character, the book focuses completely on the wife and, thankfully, bears little resemblance to the film. It is funny, especially if you've ever had young brothers.* Her tone is snappy, brilliant, and she obviously enjoys both writing and being a mother (sometimes).

Also, loved the chapter on diets. But points removed for the two show more "fantasy" chapters in the middle. Skip them (Don Brown's Body and the following one).

*my mind, at one point, instantly remembered a certain photo of my young brother sitting amidst a couple of pounds of flour in the living room floor. show less

This collection of humorous pieces, mostly revolving around the author's family, led to a family TV comedy that I have vague recollections of. The author's style reminds me of nobody so much as the late Erma Bombeck (who may well have read and been inspired by this book), but with a few exceptions, Jean Kerr's humor is better-written, with a nice light satirical touch and a nice sense of pace. The exceptions are the few pieces about her experiences as a playwright; they just didn't do it for me. But the family pieces are giggly gold. The title comes from her lamentation about not having the imagination to give her three young boys precise enough instructions about what acts of mischief not to commit.

This is a collection of humorous essays written by Jean Kerr in the late 1950's early 1960's. I didn't find it hilarious, at least not all the way through, but I certainly chortled, snorted and giggled, and several parts on child-rearing had to be read aloud to my long-suffering husband. Thought the idea for the Dramatic Reading of a hard-boiled mystery was terrific! It seemed a bit randomly put together, but I suppose that is the nature of a collection of essays.

Although dated, Jean Kerr's essays are spot on about raising children and home repairs. She is as funny now as she was when I first read her when I was a teenager.

Was one of those random books in our house as a kid, probably a hand-me-down from my grandmother, and though I thought several of the stories were funny then, the older I get and the more children I have, the more hilarious they are.

For some reason, Jean's humor appeals to me on a very basic level. Perhaps because I first read her essays as a young teen when my admittedly warped sense of humor was being formed! The essays in this book deal with children, playwriting, dogs, and other hazards of life. Love it!

Entertaining set of essays by Ms. Kerr about her life with drama critic Walter Kerr. It's a bit on the thin side, and must have required extremely creative handling by the writers who made it into a movie (which I haven't seen, so can't help wondering if they included the parodies of Francois Sagan and Stephen Vincent Benet) but still stylish enough to be re-readable occasionally.