Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe

*** Starred reviews from Kirkus and the American Library Association (ALA) ***

If your moral character is flimsy

Or your wit be rather slow,

Oh dare not read these tales of whimsy

For often do they end in woe.

Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe is quite possibly the most dangerous book of poetry ever written.

Do you dare? It’s so good it will make you sneeze. What becomes of a girl who absolutely detests

the color green? What about a king who joins a punk band? And the little boy who calls up God on

the telephone? Monsters, bears, wizards, and talking vegetables―This book has something for

everyone. Winner of the prestigious Baldersquash Medal, which honors the very best in highfalutin

nonsense.

Tim DeRoche and Daniel González, author and illustrator of the best-selling Ballad of Huck &

Miguel, return with a book of verse that will delight anyone who loves Lemony Snicket or Shel

Silverstein.

Tim DeRoche is the bestselling author of The Ballad of Huck & Miguel, a modern-day retelling of Huck Finn set on the Los Angeles River, which was featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, the LA Review of Books, and the Mark Twain Forum.  It was also selected by the Pasadena Public Library as the “One City, One Story” book for the Summer of 2019.

He also wrote A Fine Line, which was featured in the Washington Post and which launched the national watchdog Available to All.  His third book, Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe, is a collection of nonsense poetry that received starred reviews from Kirkus and the American Library Association (ALA).  He has written for TIME, USA Today, The Free Press, Unherd, and Literary Hub.

Tim lives with his wife Simone and four young kids in the Foothills of Los Angeles.

Daniel González is a printmaker and artist based in Los Angeles. He studied graphic designat the California College of Arts & Crafts and UCLA and occasionally teaches printmaking at Self Help Graphics & Art.  His family comes from the small town of El Teúl, Zacatecas Mexico.  He is a native of Los Angeles.

• Starred review from Kirkus 2023
• Starred review from American Library Association (ALA) Booklist 2023
• Starred review from Publishers Weekly Booklife 2023