Beth Labuff: 7 books

This collection of light verse, written by Iowa native Beth LaBuff, will delight anyone who has lived on, visited, or even seen a picture of a farm. You'll laugh as you read about a corn crib that was repurposed by fowl society in "Barred Plymouth Rock Band," and learn what made a catfish...

Travel to Africa's savanna for "Big Game's Big Game" where positions the rhino played were "nose-guard" and "tight-end." Enjoy a humorous nod to those who use antlers in their decorating in "Forgive Her Trespasses" and "Swapping Rooms." In "The...

In "Battle-Starfish Galactic," Houston had a problem. When a lunar war escalated over starfish fishing rights in the Sea of Tranquility, an emissary was procured from Neptune. In "Neither Asteroids, Nor Shooting stars," finds unrequited love due to a bungled routing code...

On the seashore, a turtle lived with two small companions, a clam and a hermit crab. Though her shell fit a bit loose, it only concerned her when ocean breezes blew. For her birthday celebration she received a grain of sand and a harmonica. She tucked both items in her shell. Later that evening a harsh and jarring wheeze issued from her shell. The turtle was convinced her shell was haunted!

In an undisclosed location somewhere in China’s wall, a most peculiar baker labored dawn to post-nightfall. This surreptitious baker used fortune and good luck to craft world-famous dishes; his name was Peking Duck. So skilled in Asian cooking this waterfowl’d become— the multi-tasking Peking Duck could wok while chewing gum.

Abutting an abandoned barn, A crib devoid of corn, With weathervane and cupola, The rooftop, sagged and worn. The corncrib was repurposed By fowl society, A chicken troupe— Barred Plymouth Rocks, The white variety Bandleader of the feathered group, This five-fowl poultry show, A southern...

Through the middle of a cornfieldWith its ripe and golden grain,'Round a waist-high prairie meadowWound a pot-hole riddled lane.It was there a shallow puddleWhere a sign read, “Zoned – No wake,”(Named with hopeful aspirations)Was the pond called Mammoth Lake.Now the puddle, at its...