The_Pocket_Book_of_Boners
The Pocket Book of Boners
1931 book by Dr. Seuss
The Pocket Book of Boners is a book illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), originally published as four separate books in 1931–32 by The Viking Press. In 1941, Readers' League of America compiled these four books and published the Pocket Book of Boners.[1] It was one of the bestselling paperback books of World War II, with 1.34 million copies in print by 1945.[2] "The Pocket Book of ___" was the proprietary title cliché of the publisher.[3]
The Pocket Book of Boners contains 22 illustrations of boners (howlers, blunders), drawn by Dr. Seuss. The rest of the volume consists of short jokes and humorous observations with most being no more than four lines long. It is notable for being an early example of Dr. Seuss' distinct illustration style.[citation needed]
All boners in the book are anonymous. Harry Hansen writes that "presumably these lines come out of the mouths of babes".[1] Gary K. Wolfe concludes that these are humorous schoolboy mistakes.[3] Some examples:[1]
- "King James I wrote the Bible".
- "A man who marries twice commits bigotry". (bigamy)
- "A virgin forest is a forest in which the hand of man has never set foot".