May 22
The Goops

by Gillette Burgess
The Goops they lick their fingers
And the Goops they lick their knives:
They spill their broth on the tablecloth
Oh, they lead disgusting lives!
The Goops they talk while eating,
And loud and fast they chew;
And that is why I’m glad that I
Am not a Goop, are you?
In keeping with yesterday’s post, I have decided to revisit my youth a bit. When I was little I could recite this poem by heart, but still made my dad read it to me every night before bed. If I think back on my childhood, this poem and the book it came from is one of the first things that come to mind. Just thinking about the detailed wood cut prints that illustrated each of the pages makes me smile.
I would love to recommend the book, but it has long been out of print. It is called “The Children’s Book of Literature” and is a large collection classic children’s stories, poems and fable’s.
And, just in case you are wondering: I AM actually a GOOP. Always have been, always will be.
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AND PROUD OF IT!!!!
Lots of Goops available here! http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?bt.x=0&bt.y=0&sts=t&tn=goops
I’m 43 and I remember this as a kid. I was thinking about this the other day thank you for posting.
Is this amazing book (The Childrenās Book of Literature) by any chance huge and red? My dad read stories out of it to me as a child and I also knew “The Goops” by heart.
huge and Blue! i can’t believe you just wrote the story of my childhood. were we twins?
I also remember that book mine was green. The Goops was one of my favorite. I was so glad to find the poem because I was teaching my class of 3′s the song “animals chackers” and the line “I stuff my tummy like a goop” one of my kids asked, “whats a goop?” I told them they didn’t have any manners when they ate, and that I used to know a poem about them. That lead me here to find a copy. Thanks
Oh my gosh I’ve been looking for “The children’s book of Literature for years! It was big and blue and had The Goops in it.