humor

Review: Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

| Tasha

z is for moose

Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

If you are looking for an alphabet book with more than a bit of nonsense, this is the one for you!  I happen to be a huge fan of alphabet books that play around, add humor and have plenty of twists.  If you are looking for a straight-forward ABC book, the title alone should be enough to have you looking elsewhere.  For those of you as silly as I am, continue on!  Zebra is in charge of the ABCs happening in the right order on stage.  Unfortunately, Moose doesn’t want to wait his turn.  He enters on D, knocking Duck away, messes up Elephant’s entrance too, gets his head in the way for Hat, pops out of the pocket for Kangaroo, and continues to be silly for Lollipop too.  But the insult truly comes when they decide to go with M is for… Mouse.  Now Moose is upset and rampages through P and Q, drawing scribbles on R and S.  Zebra tries to stop him, but ends up messing things up himself until the happy ending at Z. 

Bingham’s writing is filled with asides from the different animals.  The book is extremely funny, the pacing is brilliant, and the twists are unexpected.  There is a great tension built up as the letter M approaches, and then with the twist, it is pure genius. 

Zelinsky’s illustrations add to the mad gaiety of the book.  Moose is obnoxious but also charming, his emotions clear on his face.  The reaction of Moose as M passes him by is delightful, the rampage of destruction is great fun, and his scribbling is clever. 

It is clear that this is a book that was pure fun to create, since that is apparent on every page.  Impossible to read without laughing and grinning, this is an alphabet book that is sure to delight.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Nursery Rhyme Comics

| Tasha

nursery rhyme comics

Nursery Rhyme Comics

Take 50 classic nursery rhymes and put them in the hands of 50 of the top cartoonists of the day, and you get a nursery rhyme book that will delight all ages!  As you turn the pages, the styles change too.   While the text stays true to the nursery rhyme, comic asides and comments merrily twist the meaning at times.  There are also plenty of modern twists on the old tales, like There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe is a the owner of a daycare who also happens have a rock and roll band.  This is a book that embraces the humor, quirkiness and outright strangeness of nursery rhymes and takes them to another level.

When I first opened the book, I thought I might list my favorite rhymes and illustrations, but then I realized turning the pages that the real impact of this book is because there are so many diverse rhymes and illustration styles.  I tip my hat to the skill of Chris Duffy in matching illustrators to the ideal nursery rhymes.  This is really what makes the book sing.  I also appreciate the creative freedom given to the artists, making the result all the more intense and beautiful.

Highly recommended, this would be a great way to get nursery rhymes in the hands of older children who may have missed out on them when they were younger.  It’s also a delight if you know the rhymes already.  Appropriate for ages 6-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Tom the Tamer by Tjibbe Veldkamp

| Tasha

tom the tamer

Tom the Tamer by Tjibbe Veldkamp, illustrated by Philip Hopman

Tom may be able to train snails to jump on a trampoline and squirrels to swing from trapezes in the trees, but he can’t convince his father to go outdoors.  His dad is too frightened of all of the animals out there.  So Tom sets out with a plan to bring the animals in to his father.  He starts by heading to the local pet store and buying a polar bear.  He trains the polar bear in the park and by that evening, the polar bear is pretending to be their new furry white chair in the house.  Tom’s father loves the new chair and never notices that it is actually a polar bear.  The next day, Tom heads out and gets even more animals from the pet store, training them all to act like different pieces of furniture.  Soon the entire living room is filled with animals, and Tom’s father loves all of the new “furniture” too.  But what will happen when he finds out that Tom got all of these new things at the pet store?

Veldkamp has created a broad comedy that stretches the imagination in a most wonderful way.  It also takes the parent/child relationship and merrily turns it on its head.  Tom is a very creative young man, seeing the world in his own unique way and definitely not in the way that his father does. 

Hopman’s illustrations add to the fun, from the crowded shelves of the pet store to the graceful curve and smile of a polar bear chair.  The illustrations have a certain wildness but also a friendly style that makes sure that everyone knows this is pure fun.

An exuberant book that is full of zany fun, this Dutch import would be a great addition to an animal story time.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Lemniscaat.

Review: There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff

| Tasha

there is no dog

There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff

God may not be exactly who you’d expect him to be.  He’s actually a slovenly, lazy, disinterested teenager named Bob, who’d much rather lust after hot girls than pay attention to any prayers made in his name.  Bob lives in an apartment with Mr. B, who has been his personal assistant for millennia.  Every time Bob gets interested in a new girl, the entire weather system goes haywire.  This time the girl is Lucy, who works at a zoo and lives a simple life until Bob gets involved.  The question is which will last longer: Bob’s attention span or Earth!  This irreverent and very funny novel for teens comes from one of the top YA authors and is pure joy to read.

Rosoff’s writing is buoyant here.  The entire premise carries humor, but she infuses it further with wry insights, clever devices, and unexpected twists.  It’s a wild sort of book that the reader simply has to go along with.  This is controlled chaos, reined in solely by the quality of the writing and the strength of the story. 

The characters of the book are a motley group.  Readers will immediately be drawn to the luminous Lucy but at the same time, they will see themselves in God as well.  Bob is a God with a raw creativity, undisciplined natural skills, and very short attention span.  While he may read at first like a regular teen, Rosoff manages to mix that universal experience with one that is specific to God. 

There is a magic here, a miracle, that takes a book that could have been heresy and lifts it to heavenly humor.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from ARC received from G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Review: Caveman, A.B.C. Story by Janee Trasler

| Tasha

caveman

Caveman, A.B.C. Story by Janee Trasler

Take a prehistoric trip through the alphabet in this funny picture book!  This book tells the story of a caveman’s adventures solely through pictures and a few alphabetical words.  It starts with an acorn that both the caveman and a squirrel are after.  They are scared by a bear into a cave where a dinosaur was living.  A bit later, the caveman makes friends with an odd little creature who had been trapped in some ice.  Unfortunately, the big green dinosaur appears again and chases them around, forcing them to leap onto vines and swing away.  But the book can’t end before one final uproarious slapstick moment which leads all the way too the Zzzz at the end.

This story is told only in 26 words, so that means that the illustrations are what really make this book work so well.  Filled with a zany cartoon style, the pictures are action-filled and great fun.  The huge green dinosaur may pursue the caveman in the book, but readers will notice the rounded teeth and the big smile long before the caveman does.

A fast-paced and funny alphabet book that will do well with young dinosaur fans.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed on Jen Robinson’s Book Page.

Review: Eddie Gets Ready for School by David Milgrim

| Tasha

eddie gets ready

Eddie Gets Ready for School by David Milgrim

Eddie can get ready for school all on his own, but his routine is not what his mother would have done!  That’s for sure!  His healthy breakfast is spilled around so much that it becomes a way to take care of feeding the dog too.  He washes up with a diving mask on.  When he’s gotten dressed he has on a cape, no shirt, and his underwear is on his head.  Then comes watching cartoons and drinking root beer.  That is until his mother shows up!  His routine continues to be uproarious fun and he does make it onto the bus on time, even if he is carrying his clean underwear in his hand!

Milgrim taps into exactly what small children will find funny.  The underwear jokes are bound to get big laughs, but so is the idea that a school snack includes a whole watermelon.  Each page contains something that children would have loved to do themselves, therefore they will love to see what happens when Eddie tries it.  It is a very satisfying premise for a book.

Much of the humor is visual and told in Milgrim’s bright colored illustrations.  The white background on many of the pages make the colors really pop.  There is a feeling of enthusiasm within the illustrations and the story itself. 

Perfect for fans of the No, David! series, this book has the same zany humor and energy.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Review: What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson

| Tasha

what animals really like

What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson

Mr. Herbert Timberteeth is happy to present his new song that he composed, “What Animals Like Most.”  He will also be conducting it, just open the red curtains and… There are groups of animals on stage who flatly deliver, “We are lions, and we like to prowl.  We are wolves, and we like to howl.  We are pigeons, and we like to coo.  We are cows and we like to…”  Turn the page to have the chaos begin as the cows change the obvious rhyme into something else entirely.  Best of all, you can tell from the animals’ faces that they are up to something.  They are the only ones on stage grinning.  The same is true of the next grouping.  Children will get the joke immediately when the first rhyme is missed. Finally, Herbert, now bedraggled, allows them to sing the new and non-rhyming version of the song.  He hates it, but the audience has a very different reaction.

Robinson has tapped into a kind of humor that children enjoy.  The unexpected happening when you think you have the structure pegged.  Children will be relaxed and ready for the rhyme to come next.  In fact, they will probably announce that first rhyme before you get the page turned.  Their reaction will be that much better if they do!  The unexpectedness of this entire book is a great treat.

The illustrations are also fun.  Keep an eye out for all of the small touches.  My favorite is where the show is lit by glowworms, and if you look closely one of them has fallen asleep and is no longer lit.  But there are many to enjoy, making this a book that can be read again and again.

This is a definite read-aloud pick for any preschool story time.  It would make a great final book that is sure to keep wiggly children interested and listening.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: What’s New at the Zoo? by Betty Comden

| Tasha

whats new at the zoo

What’s New at the Zoo? by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, illustrated by Travis Foster

This funny book about an overcrowded zoo contains words that are lyrics from the Broadway Show, Do Re Mi.  The zoo is so crowded that the animals are stepping on one another.  The kangaroo’s pouch is stepped on by a bear.  The moose’s snout is stepped on by a goose.  All of the animals demand to be let out of the zoo.  So when the zookeeper arrives at the door, he is stampeded by all of the animals in their rush to escape.  The book combines humor and rhythm into one very appealing read.

Comden and Green had a way with words and rhythm.  I only wish I could have heard the music for the book and kept checking to see if there was a CD that I had missed.  The writing is humorous, offering plenty of laughs for young readers.

Much of the humor is also visual in the illustrations by Foster.  His art adds an appealing cartoonish, slapstick humor to the read.  Children will love the expressions on the faces of the animals as they are trod upon.  There are also several large flaps to lift that add even more fun.

This one is a treat to read aloud, the rhymes and rhythms flow beautifully.  Children will love the animals, the jokes and all of the zany fun.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking by Philippe Coudray

| Tasha

benjamin bear in fuzzy thinking

Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking by Philippe Coudray

This is another winner from Toon Books.  Their graphic novel line up for elementary aged children manages to be funny, smart and perfectly age appropriate.  Originally published in France, this graphic novel has a certain elegance and style.  Each comic in the book ranges from three to six panels, telling small stories in a quick, simple way.  The humor ranges from a quiet contemplative joke about friendship to a physical slap-stick style.  Coudray has woven those styles together so the book moves from one level to another seamlessly, creating a dynamic and surprising reading effect. 

Coudray’s humor is multi-faceted and great fun to read.  The book moves from one sort of humor to another with great ease.  The illustrations are colorful but in a more sophisticated palette than many children’s books.  A lot of the humor is physical, so the illustrations convey much of it.  Even in the broadest of slapstick, there is a feel of style that makes it a unique read.

The book is laugh-out-loud funny and also great fun to share aloud with children.  This is a graphic novel that belongs in all public libraries, because it is a great hook for reluctant readers.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Pink Me.