Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo 
Mercer Mayer ~ Golden Books, 1976
reprinted in 2011 by Fastpencil
I know I just did a Mayer a few weeks back, but as I'm still too cheap to break down and purchase this one, it is due back to the library tomorrow. I have to purge all my library books before we head to Mexico for the month of May lest I drown in overdue fees. A first edition of Professor Wormbog is only slightly less expensive than his other 1974 collectable One Monster After Another... both of which will cost you a pretty penny. Even the last edition of PW from 2002 is way over the cover price. That said, this was the first in a series of four books that Mayer did in the late 70s about the good professor, picking them up right about the time that the A Boy, a Dog and a Frog series wound down. My son always talks about Professor Wormbog, so rather than drop the big bucks for it, I just keep returning to the library for a fix.
So there's this little professor see, and he collects monsters, but so far the Zipperump-a-Zoo has illuded him. And so his quest begins...
He had every beast from A to Y, but his collection was incomplete.
There was no Zipperump-a-Zoo in the place marked Z, for...
...the Zipperump-a-Zoo had never been caught.
Without further ado, Professor Wormbog decided to catch one.
Each picture is so full of in-jokes and secret winks, that as an adult it is hard not to get totally sucked into Mayer's world. Plus the monsters are insane. Dude, I totally wanna have a couple of glasses of wine with this guy and get inside his head. I bet it is a crazy fun place!
Extra special treat: I found Mercer doing some book readings on what I have to believe is his Youtube channel, including this one, and they are a riot. I love this guy.
Also by:
Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp
One Monster After Another
Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-A-Zoo
Me and My Flying Machine
Beauty and the Beast
A Special Trick
Bubble Bubble
OOPS
One Frog Too Many
How the Trollusk Got His Hat
Little Monster at Work
AH-CHOO
The Bird of Time
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Read along on Facebook, Twitter, tumblr and Etsy!
7 comments:
Liza a Lou is an all time favorite of mine, and this one looks so familiar. I love seeing the books you post on, thanks for your blog :).
Liza Low was one of mine too, even if it took me a lifetime to find it again. :) Thanks for reading!
My son and I always say, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the Zipperump-A-Zoos bite" at lights out... from "Little Monster's Bedtime Book" (a favorite from when I was little, and now a favorite of my son's) I love Mercer Mayer's monsters. I wish he would do more in this genre nowadays instead of Little Critter (which is still cute).
Yay! One of my ALL TIME favorite Mayers! But I love so many of them! I didn't look on your Mayer list to see if you've read The Wizard Comes to Town. It's a fantastic spooky Halloweenish pick! Have fun in Mexico!
Did I say I was going to mexico somewhere? Man, I am losing it this week. We do have the wizard, but you know, now that I'm thinking about it, we haven't seen that for a while so I'd better dig it out for the weekend!
Doh! Well, now I see that this is an older post and you were talking about going in May! Ooops! Hope it was a nice trip...he he....
I've been unable to locate my One Monster After Another. And my kids keep asking what the beasties for S and T are. Any idea?
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