Steve Martin writes a children's book
Categories: Education, That's entertainment
The comedy of Steve Martin was a big part of my childhood. My brother and I spent hours listening to the Let's Get Small album and Martin's 1978 King Tut song totally cracked us up. To this day, Steve Martin is one of my all-time favorite performers and in my opinion, The Jerk is one of the funniest movies every made.Ellie may not ever understand what was so funny about A Wild and Crazy Guy, but she now has another option for appreciating the offbeat comedy of Steve Martin - his new children's book, The Alphabet From A to Y, With Bonus Letter Z.
Unlike a lot of celebrities who write children's books, Martin doesn't have kids. So, why would a 62-year-old fatherless man suddenly decide to add 'children's author' to his already impressive resume? He doesn't know. "I'm not sure why I did this. I don't know why an alphabet book popped into my head," he says. "My idea was to write these rhyming couplets with the craziest images I could possibly think up, and then have Roz illustrate them." Roz is New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, with whom he collaborated on the book.
An excerpt from the book: "H" ("Henrietta the hare wore a habit in heaven/Her hairdo hid hunchbacks: one hundred and seven") and "N" ("Needle-nosed Nigel won nine kinds of knockwurst/By winning a contest to see who could knock wurst").
The book, published by Flying Dolphin Press, is available now and even though Ellie is a bit old for an alphabet book, I think she will still find it entertaining.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joy 10-24-2007 @ 1:11PM
I'm going to check this out for my grandson. I love these type of books and ryhming things. I love Dr. Suess for the same reason and anyone old enough to have watched this guy on Sat Night Live (back when it was funny), has to love him.
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Eric 10-24-2007 @ 10:01PM
I don't know about best movie ever, but The Jerk is definitely great... a kind of Forrest Gump-y in the writing, but a bit more outlandish.
I love the introduction... "I was born a poor black child."
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Sandy Maple 10-24-2007 @ 10:07PM
That intro line is brilliant! And a new phone directory on my doorstep never fails to send me in to "the new phone books are here, the new phone books are here!" Love it.
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Anne-Marie 10-25-2007 @ 9:18AM
I've always like Steve Martin, but I'm soooo tired of celbrities writing children's books. Usually they're terrible or just o.k. at best (hello Jamie Lee Curtis, Madonna and Katie Couric). Wish the publishers would go with nobody writers instead of celebs. But then it's all about money, isn't it.
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Jenny 10-25-2007 @ 2:01PM
Umm... he's not fatherless. I think you mean childless.
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