Forty-one poems that look at ordinary things in unusual ways. "Viorst takes everyday situations that frustrate, bewilder, or bemuse and turns them into fodder for her audience's personal laugh tracks. . . . (She) succeeds in bringing out the fun in human foibles and her poems that twist traditional fairy-tale endings are positively inspired."--"Booklist." Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Knock, knock. Who's there? Someone with sad underwear. Sad underwear? How can that be? When my best friend's mad at me, Everything is sad. Even my underwear. Only Judith Viorst, with the perfect pitch for the trials of childhood that has made her Alexander books modern classics, could create an ode to melancholy unmentionables. But the title poem is just one of the many pleasures in this collection, which bursts with wit and understanding -- and the occasional poignant note. Sure to delight readers of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, as well as Viorst's own legions of fans, Sad Underwear is a perfect companion volume to her celebrated If I Were In Charge of the World.

Judith Viorst is known and loved by readers of all ages, for children’s books such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ; nonfiction titles, including the bestseller Necessary Losses ; and her collections of humorous poetry, which make perfect gifts for birthdays, Mother’s Day, graduation, Christmas, Chanukah, or at any time of year. When Did I Stop Being Twenty and Other Injustices brings together the best of Judith Viorst's witty, insightful poetry, including many favorites from out-of-print collections. Whether she's finding herself or finding a sitter, or contemplating her sex life as she rubs the hormone night cream on her face, Viorst explores the true and funny ironies all women encounter growing up in the modern world. Here is a young single girl from Irvington, NJ, leaving her parents' home for life in the big city ("No I do not believe in free love/And yes I will be home for Sunday dinners," she promises). Here is the aspiring bohemian with an expensive liberal arts education, getting coffee and taking dictation, "Hoping that someday someone will be impressed/With all I know." Here is that married woman, coping with motherhood ("The tricycles are cluttering my foyer/The Pop Tart crumbs are sprinkled on my soul") and fantasy affairs ("I could imagine cryptic conversations, clandestine martinis...and me explaining that long kisses clog my sinuses") and all-too-real family reunions ("Four aunts in pain taking pills/One cousin in analysis taking notes"). And here she is at mid-life, wondering whether a woman who used to wear a "Ban the Bomb" button can find happiness being a person with a set of fondue forks, a fish poacher, and a wok. Every step of the way, Viorst transforms the familiar events of daily life into poems that make you laugh with recognition. When Did I Stop Being Twenty and Other Injustices demonstrates once and for all that no one understands American women coming of age like Judith Viorst.