If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries: Poems for Children and Their ParentsHardcover, 1 August 1981

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also
Sara Steinberg.
All of us have times when we wish that we were in charge of the world...when we envy girls with ten best friends and gold watches...when we take an eight-block detour to avoid bumping into bullies like Stanley the Fierce...when we question whether princes and princesses really do live happily ever after...when we wonder how grownups ever get to be grown up enough to stop being scared of the dark.
This book of poems is for everyone who has ever had trouble apologizing, or loved a cat, or talked too much, or burped. This book of poems is for everyone who could use a little help in turning some of their worries into laughter.