On April Fool’s Day several years ago I told my hockey-mad son that his big game was cancelled because the ice had melted at the rink. I thought his reaction was hilarious, but he still tells me it wasn’t funny. Humour, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder! At the Library we have humorous books for all ages and tastes. Here is a sampling.
Babies love to laugh, and the board book Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett can get the giggles going. It provides lovely pictures of what could happen if different animals did wear clothes, like, a snake would lose it, a sheep might find it terribly hot, and a billy goat would eat it for lunch.
Chicken Butt! by Erica S. Perl, illustrated by Henry Cole, appeals to both children and parents. If you’ve ever been asked, “Guess what?” by a smirking six year old, you’ll know why! This is one of those books that’s funny because it’s true.
Laugh Out Loud Canadian Jokes is a collection of over 400 jokes put together by Scholastic. Most are one-liners, like: What is a hockey player’s favourite dairy product? Top cheese! (page 91). This book also includes some riddles, and would be fun to take along on a family road trip.
Around the World in Jokes, Riddles, and Games by Marguerite Rodger is a nice introduction to international relations for children. It explains how while laughter is universal, the things we find funny are not. This book includes chapters about puns, metaphors, and synonyms and homonyms as well — fun and educational!
Jeff Foxworthy, Erma Bombeck, and Arthur Black are well-known funny people who have written books. Jeff Foxworthy’s book Redneck Dictionary III: Learning to Talk More Gooder Fastly is just as the title describes. You can hear the twang in Jeff’s voice as you read definitions such as: reckon v. the ongoing act of destroying or demolishing. “I keep buyin ‘em, she keeps reckon ‘em.”
Erma Bombeck’s classic When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It’s Time to Go Home is a laugh-out-loud account of her travels. Novice and seasoned travellers alike are sure to relate to her stories of vacation misadventures.
Arthur Black, who sadly died in February, got his start as a funny guy on the radio in Thunder Bay. He went on to write several books including Fifty Shades of Black. It includes anecdotes, stories, opinions and yarns, based on his own life, and astute observations.
Hungry for humour? Visit your Library and we’ll happily hook you up!
Joanna Aegard — – www.tbpl.ca. If you have a comment about today’s column, we would love to hear from you. Please comment below!
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