As if Rhett Miller weren’t already busy enough. In addition to being the lead singer of the Old 97s, he released a new solo album a few months ago (The Messenger), is constantly touring, hosts a brand-new podcast (Wheel’s Off), and is literally a rock star dad. That’s plenty, right?

Well, apparently not. He had to go and write a book of kid’s poetry on top of everything else. Out this week from Little, Brown, No More Poems! is – as the book’s tagline asserts – a book in verse that just gets worse.

If you’re interested in pulling back the curtain and listening to an in-depth discussion about how the book came to be (along with Miller’s creative process for both music and poetry), check out my conversation with him over on The Great Big Beautiful Podcast.

The poems themselves are hilarious; I won’t lie. But the art is by the incomparable Dan Santat, which elevates this book to another level entirely. (Check out my conversation with Dan here.) It’s not an overstatement to say that everything Dan touches turns to gold. He’s a true superstar of the kidlit world, and for good reason.

His illustrations here lift the poems off the page and make them come alive. Every picture book with his name on it is pure magic, and No More Poems! is no exception. Here’s “My Device” read by Dan:

If you’re a fan of dark, twisted humor in the vein of Shel Silverstein, there’s a LOT to love here. So many of the poems will literally have you laughing out loud.

I suppose the book should come with a bit of a disclaimer, though. If you’re easily offended or have delicate sensibilities, you might want to give these poems a once over before sitting down with the kids. Miller pushes the boundaries with several of his poems. He goes beyond mere “fart jokes.” Indeed, the publisher drew the line at including mention of cyanide in the book.

For example? Take a listen to “Brotherly Love,” presented here and read by Rhett Miller himself (from the above-mentioned podcast). I recently saw Miller at a solo acoustic performance here in DC, and he read the same poem to the audience about midway through his set.

Though I was already familiar with it, the rest of the audience was not. It was met with uncomfortable laughter and a few horrified expressions (from overly delicate parents, most likely).

And you should know that much of the book is like that. Don’t open this one up expecting sunshine and rainbows. These are poems about using powers of stealth to find a sanitary way flush a public toilet, finding stray nose hairs, playing baseball when your bully coach is also your dad, and peeing in the middle of the night.

There’s an ode to that one guy in the carpool with stinky breath. There’s an obviously autobiographical poem about being a rock star dad – but still being an embarrassment. And there’s a poem for all kinds of weirdos.

Weirdos of the world unite
Stand up and rejoice
Sing your happy weirdo song
Use your big kid voice

In the end, that’s what this book is really about. Weirdos. The weird things we all like and do. And learning to embrace it.

It’s for the weird little kids we have in our lives for far too short a time. It’s for the weirdos we – who were once “normal” adults – become once those kids are born. It celebrates the things we do that make people scrunch up their nose. It champions the things we like that others consider strange.

And in that way, No More Poems! is a beautiful book about accepting who you are – without reservations. And of course, finding laughter along the way.