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Kids and Their Quirks: Poems We Can All Relate To

by Ricky Del Rosario, illustrated by Jennifer Del Rosario

106 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0136; ISBN 1-55369-323-X; US$14.50, C$16.33, EUR12.00, £8.50

Kids and Their Quirks is a compilation of endearing and humorous poetry, focusing on the awkwardness of adolescence and the many twists of life. Readers of all ages will enjoy the poems with a comic twist.

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about the book      about the author      excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book Kids and Their Quirks: Poems We Can All Relate To is a compilation of endearing and humorous poetry written with the sarcastic wryness of an author who has experienced the ups and downs of growing up with growing pains. These poems reminisce on such difficult adolescent subjects such as braces, school dances, crushes, holidays, video games, teachers, parents, pimples, classes, body odor and other awkward moments, always ending with a bit of a comic twist. Readers of all ages will be sure to relate these poems to their own experiences of adolescence, as well as be amused by the trials of these unfortunate youths!

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About the Author Ricky Del Rosario considers himself a kid at heart! A former stand-up comedian, motivational speaker and T.V. host for high-school students, Del Rosario now owns his own contracting business, as well as substitute teaches part-time. Del Rosario was born and raised in Seaside, CA. He graduated from Monterey High School in 1992. Receiving class-clown recognition in junior high, as well as high school, Del Rosario inevitably pursued a career in stand-up comedy while also attending Sonoma State University. He graduated with a B.A. degree in psychology. During his college years, he gained recognition across the country as an urban comedian. Del Rosario was featured as one of the nation's top-ten comedians at Atlanta's first annual Laugh-A-Palooza Festival, as well as appearing on national television. While attending college and touring for comedy, he also spoke at schools around the San Francisco Bay Area, motivating students through laughter. This also led to a stint as a morning show radio personality on Northern California's top radio station. In 1999, Del Rosario chose to retire from the travel and competiveness of the comedy business. He chose to start a self-owned contracting business in the Sonoma Valley Wine Country and substitute teaches in near-by schools during his off-season. Del Rosario was inspired to write poems about kids through his experiences in comedy and observations in the classroom, as well as his own experiences as a child growing up in Seaside, California.

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Excerpts

My Parents

Sometimes they don't realize,
It must be in their genes,
To humiliate me daily,
And by all and any means.

When Dad arrives at school,
I think he thinks it's fun,
To wear a shirt that went out-of-style
Back In 1981!

Friends swim in my backyard,
And I have to hide from sight,
Because Mom walks right in front of the pool,
In a swim suit four sizes too tight!

My Dad is loosing his hair,
Not just a little, but a lot,
He tries to comb it over,
To cover up the spot.

Mom is getting older,
And loosing some youthful grace,
She pulls out all her eyebrows,
And paints new ones on her face.

She must have missed her mustache,
'Cause now she looks like Dad,
He's loosing hair and she's gaining it,
I must admit it's sad!

I dread the days we go shopping,
It puts me in a rage,
Mom will only buy me clothes,
She wore when she was my age.

I have a ridiculous curfew,
The subject makes me sore,
No matter where I'm at the time,
I must be in by four.

Of course, I love my parents,
But sometimes they're a wreck,
They'll get on my last nerve,
I've had it up to my neck.

They always order me around ,
I pray it's just a test,
To make my life miserable,
They have to be obsessed.

I truly love my parents,
But there are definite skills they lack,
I know one day that I'll have kids,
And then I'll get payback

Sweat

What's the problem
I'm a walking threat
Staying dry is impossible
With that curse called sweat

I detest P.E.
The most, without a doubt
I can't stop sweating
It's where I really stand-out

Mom hates doing my laundry
Each time she throws fits
My shirts are all stained
With yellow circles 'round the pits

At times I smell so bad
That people start to cough
My deodorant is called roll-on
But to me it just rolls off!

There's nothing I've not tried,
I've done the best I can,
I guess I'm just meant to be
A smelly sweaty old man

Index of poems

Airplane
Babysitting
Beach
Billion Dollars
Boring Teachers
Boys First Dance
Braces
Cafeteria
Carpool
Chores
Computers
Detention
Dishes
Feet
First Day
Gas
Getting Dumped
Girls First Dance
Grades
Gum
Halloween
Library
Lifting Weights
Little Brother
Mail
Mean People
Mosquitoes
Movie Star
Movies
Mr. D
Music
My Bed
My Bike
My Car
My Dog
My Parents
New Shoes
News
Not Again
Nothing to Eat
Party Time
Pimples
Pizza
Playground
Pony Tails
Pre-Lunch
Principal
Santa Clause
Saturday Morning
School Bathroom
Science
Sleep
Soda
Sports
Substitute
Sweat
T.V.
Teacher
Test
Thanksgiving
The Mall
Timmy
Toilet
Too Young
Turn on The Lights
Valentines Day
Video Games
Waiting
Walking Home From School
What to Wear

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Catalogue Information

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