Close Modal

Once Upon A Tomb

Gravely Humorous Verses

Illustrated by Simon Bartram
Hardcover
8.65"W x 11.67"H x 0.38"D   | 15 oz | 20 per carton
On sale Jul 11, 2006 | 32 Pages | 9780763618377
Age 6-9 years
Clever puns and elaborately detailed, surreal artwork illuminate a collection of comically grim verses that can’t help but tickle the funny bone.

Reader, if I had more time 
I’d say au revoir in rhyme, 
Sayonara, ciao in verse — 
But I have to catch a hearse. 

Peek inside Once Upon a Tomb and find twenty-two poems, each of which tells, in hilarious verse, the story of an untimely demise — from a school principal to a bully, a food critic to a cafeteria lady, an underwear salesman to a soccer player. Complemented by Simon Bartram’s deadpan illustrations, J. Patrick Lewis’s cryptic tour of headstones and epitaphs is silly, spooky — and far from grave.
J. Patrick Lewis has written many books for children, including The Last Resort, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti, which was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, and Arithme-tickle an Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.

Simon Bartram's humorous acrylic paintings have appeared in several books for children, including Man on the Moon (A Day in the Life of Bob), and numerous magazines. He loves to paint but also enjoys writing and creating his own stories and poems.
Available for sale exclusive:
•     Canada
•     Guam
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     North Mariana
•     Puerto Rico
•     Samoa,American
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA

Not available for sale:
•     Afghanistan
•     Aland Islands
•     Albania
•     Algeria
•     Andorra
•     Angola
•     Anguilla
•     Antarctica
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Argentina
•     Armenia
•     Aruba
•     Australia
•     Austria
•     Azerbaijan
•     Bahamas
•     Bahrain
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belarus
•     Belgium
•     Belize
•     Benin
•     Bermuda
•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Botswana
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Bulgaria
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cameroon
•     Cape Verde
•     Cayman Islands
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Croatia
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Cyprus
•     Czech Republic
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Denmark
•     Djibouti
•     Dominica
•     Dominican Rep.
•     Ecuador
•     Egypt
•     El Salvador
•     Equatorial Gui.
•     Eritrea
•     Estonia
•     Ethiopia
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Faroe Islands
•     Fiji
•     Finland
•     France
•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
•     Gambia
•     Georgia
•     Germany
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Greece
•     Greenland
•     Grenada
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guatemala
•     Guernsey
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Guyana
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Hungary
•     Iceland
•     India
•     Indonesia
•     Iran
•     Iraq
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Israel
•     Italy
•     Ivory Coast
•     Jamaica
•     Japan
•     Jersey
•     Jordan
•     Kazakhstan
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Kuwait
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Laos
•     Latvia
•     Lebanon
•     Lesotho
•     Liberia
•     Libya
•     Liechtenstein
•     Lithuania
•     Luxembourg
•     Macau
•     Macedonia
•     Madagascar
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Maldives
•     Mali
•     Malta
•     Marshall island
•     Martinique
•     Mauritania
•     Mauritius
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Montserrat
•     Morocco
•     Mozambique
•     Myanmar
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     Nepal
•     Netherlands
•     New Caledonia
•     New Zealand
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Nigeria
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Pakistan
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Philippines
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Romania
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Saint Martin
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Singapore
•     Sint Maarten
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     Spain
•     Sri Lanka
•     St Barthelemy
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Sudan
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Swaziland
•     Sweden
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Tanzania
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Tunisia
•     Turkey
•     Turkmenistan
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
•     Uganda
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     United Kingdom
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vanuatu
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Western Samoa
•     Yemen
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe

Lewis is ‘dead-on’. . . . The devilishly deadpan, acrylic paintings raise the dead to a higher humor level.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

About

Clever puns and elaborately detailed, surreal artwork illuminate a collection of comically grim verses that can’t help but tickle the funny bone.

Reader, if I had more time 
I’d say au revoir in rhyme, 
Sayonara, ciao in verse — 
But I have to catch a hearse. 

Peek inside Once Upon a Tomb and find twenty-two poems, each of which tells, in hilarious verse, the story of an untimely demise — from a school principal to a bully, a food critic to a cafeteria lady, an underwear salesman to a soccer player. Complemented by Simon Bartram’s deadpan illustrations, J. Patrick Lewis’s cryptic tour of headstones and epitaphs is silly, spooky — and far from grave.

Creators

J. Patrick Lewis has written many books for children, including The Last Resort, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti, which was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, and Arithme-tickle an Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.

Simon Bartram's humorous acrylic paintings have appeared in several books for children, including Man on the Moon (A Day in the Life of Bob), and numerous magazines. He loves to paint but also enjoys writing and creating his own stories and poems.

Praise

Lewis is ‘dead-on’. . . . The devilishly deadpan, acrylic paintings raise the dead to a higher humor level.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Penguin Random House Comics Retail