Sit on a Potato Pan, Otis!: More Palindromes Hardcover – April 16, 1999

As described. Thanks!

So funny!

I bought several of these to give for gifts. Great fun for any age!

Jon Agee may be best known for his illustration of children's books ("The Halloween House", "If Snow Falls"). However, he has also proven himself a proficient wordsmith, easily and playfully pulling words all apart and putting them together. "Sit on a Potato Pan" is one of five books delighting in the oddities English spelling.Palindromes are words or phrases that are spelled the same way forwards as backwards. Take the title of the book and spell it backwards, and it's the exact same title!! These things are not easy to create, and the longer the phrase the more difficult it is to both spell backwards and still make sense. The fact that "Sit...Otis!" is one of THREE books of palindromes by Mr. Agee only proves his genius at manipulating words and letters.Like his other two books of palindromes, "So Many Dynamos!" and "Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog!" (now THERE'S one that must have taken a few days to create!!), "Sit...Otis!" is illustrated with wonderful drawings that make the palindrome live and sparkle. For example, in one of my personal favorites, two gents in the Old West are looking at a wanted poster. Pictures of large cats are on the wanted poster, and one man says to the other, "darn ocelots stole Conrad". Another is of three men staring at 9 little pieces of scribbled on paper. They make their own notes about them, and the caption is "some men interpret nine memos".Needless to say, these things are not easy to write!! Especially the longer, more complicated ones like "naive was I ere I saw Evian" and the one that makes the title of this book. While not a book geared for young children, students in, say, third grade and above would no doubt get a kick out of these and other palindromes. With Mr. Agee as a guide, it's a perfect opportunity for students to go on and create their own. What else is Otis capable of??

This book has been thoroughly enjoyed by our whole family, even our kindergarten son. The palindromes are amazingly creative and are brought to life by the clever illustrations. Palindromes that might not make sense in isolation are paired up with funny pictures that make perfect sense. This would be a great gift for anyone who appreciates creativity with the written word.

"So Many Dynamos!" and "Sit On A Potato Pan, Otis" are hilarious little books of cartooned palindromes by Jon Agee. My wife and I quote them. Even my six-year-old daughter loves them. Great gift ideas for smart/funny friends.