Hot Dog and Other Stupid Poems

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

“A doggie was sitting right out in the sun. / Then into the shade he
went, quick as a frog. / ‘The reason,’ he said, ‘If you’ll
pardon the pun; / I don’t want to be just another hot dog!’” And,
“It has been shown oft before / That cheerful people are more /
Resistant to a disease, / When grumpy ones cough and wheeze. / And now I
can reaffirm / the surly bird gets the germ.”

This collection of nearly 50 pun-riddled rhymes is aimed at people who
love good groaners. Joyce’s poetic style runs the gamut from couplets
to six-legged limericks. His humor ranges from “cross-eyed teachers”
and “collie flowers” to “people who commit sewer-side” and
“egg-static cooks” who quip “The yolk’s on me.” Occasionally
the subject matter borders on the risqué. Three illustrators supply the
black-ink drawings for Joyce’s verse, but their signatures appear on
none of the sketches, so it is impossible to comment on individual
styles. Overall, the illustrations are competent but uninspired.