humor

Review: 11 Experiments That Failed by Jenny Offill

| Tasha

11 experiments that failed

11 Experiments That Failed by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter

A series of experiments take place in this book, each one funnier than the next.  They attempt to answer questions like: Can a kid make it through the winter eating only snow and ketchup?  Do dogs like to be covered in glitter?  Will a piece of bologna fly like a Frisbee?  The only way to find out is for the protagonist to test it scientifically.  That means trying to eat only ketchup and snow and observing the results.  Sprinkling her dog with glitter to see what happens.  Testing flight capabilities of bologna in the lunchroom of school.  All of the experiments have a question, a hypothesis, instructions, and results.  Budding scientists are sure to find plenty to laugh along with in this book, along with new ideas for experiments of their own.

This very funny book and also great fun to share.  The book design plays a big role in the fun.  Since the results are after a page turn, we enjoyed guessing what the results of the experiments would be.  Each experiment is unique, silly and entirely engaging.  The other winning part of the book is that this is a girl doing science, wearing her pink goggles and gloves, and her lab coat. 

The illustrations add to appeal.  The collage illustrations mix photographs and drawing.  They are quirky, colorful and glorious.

Get this one in the hands of science teachers who are teaching the scientific process.  Young scientists will also love it as well as any kid who enjoys silliness in their books.  But beware of flying bologna!  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Schwartz & Wade Books.

Also reviewed by Pink Me and Young Readers.

Review: An Annoying ABC by Barbara Bottner

| Tasha

annoying abc

An Annoying ABC by Barbara Bottner, illustrations by Michael Emberley

Take a very funny trip through the alphabet in a series of mishaps in this silly picture book.  When Adelaide starts the story off by annoying Bailey the chain of events carries all the way through the classroom from A to Z.  Children are crying, fuming, howling, and evening stumbling and tumbling before it reaches the end.  But then, when everything is done, Adelaide apologizes! 

Bottner has created a zany way to do the ABCs filled with plenty of action and nonsense.  This is a modern classroom filled with characters that are depicted in detail by Emberley.  He manages to imbue each of them with their own sense of personality and style, all 26 of them.  It is a book that races along thanks to the pacing of Bottner’s words, but readers who linger on each page will get a better sense of the story itself as told through the illustrations.  It’s a pleasant mix of words that are welcoming and fast, and pictures that are worth exploring.

A thrilling ABC, this is one of those books where children act like children and laughter abounds.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Can Hens Give Milk? by Joan Betty Stuchner

| Tasha

can hens give milk

Can Hens Give Milk? by Joan Betty Stuchner, illustrated by Joe Weissmann

Shlomo and Riva live on a farm where they have five children, twelve hens and one rooster.  Rivka wishes that they had a cow to give the family milk and cheese.  That night, Shlomo had a dream that showed him what they could do.  Cows eat grass and give milk, so he reasoned that if the hens were fed grass, they would give milk too.  But the hens refused to eat the grass.  One of the daughters, Tova, came up with the idea of rolling the grass into pellets that look like the grain that the hens usually eat.  But even then, the hens would not eat the grass.  There was only one thing to do, and that was to force the hens to each eat one pellet of grass.  The family then left them to lay eggs and give milk overnight.  What do you think happened next?  All I will say is that in the end, the family had eggs AND milk.  But how?

This story of a fool and his family is written with great humor.  Children will immediately recognize the nonsense of the logic that Shlomo and his family are using, so they will enjoy seeing the story play out.  There is plenty of opportunity for laughter as new solutions are generated and then also proven to not work.  It’s a story that will have you grinning just because of the silliness of the entire book.

Weissman’s art is bright and silly as well, reveling in the humor of the text.  The dreams of milk and cheese are brought to life as are the hiccupping and indignant hens. 

A silly book that will lend a lot of laughter to a unit or storytime on food, this book reads aloud well.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by

Review: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

| Tasha

i want my hat back

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Published September 27, 2011.

I don’t think I can express how much I love this picture book.  It happily breaks all picture book rules by using a very muted palette with punches of color, not having much action at all, and ending with a dark twist.

The bear, who narrates the book in first person, is searching for his hat.  He asks one animal after the next about his hat and no one has seen it.  The only exception is the rabbit who is wearing a distinctive bright red pointy hat and seems to be protesting too much.  The bear continues past him though and on to several more animals until suddenly he realizes that he HAS seen his hat!  He rushes back past all of the animals until he reaches the rabbit.  And to find out what happens next, you will just have to read this humdinger of a picture book.

The illustrations are subtle, clever and in their understated way, hilarious.  The deadpan of the animals, the grasses and rocks near each of them on a tan page, all add up to the perfect background for this surprising story.

Klassen’s wording is perfection.  Each animal has a straight-forward response except the rabbit, so readers will be sure to notice the frenzied excuses being made.  He also incorporates plenty of repetition into the book which makes it flow like a book for preschoolers, but the humor will be enjoyed by older readers most of all.

Get your hands on this one, it is a clever, funny read with a dark twist.  What more could you ask for?  Appropriate for children ages 4-6, but most appreciated by children 7-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Candlewick Press.

Also reviewed by:

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Review: Binky under Pressure by Ashley Spires

| Tasha

binky under pressure

Binky under Pressure by Ashley Spires

Released September 1, 2011.

Binky is still a space cat and still protecting his humans from the alien invaders.  His life has become rather dull.  Then one morning, Gracie arrives.  She’s a new kitty his humans have adopted.  Binky tries to explain that this is HIS space station and these are HIS humans.  But Gracie doesn’t seem interested in giving up her new home or even Binky’s favorite toys.  It’s not until Binky spots Gracie defeat an alien with incredible finesse that he starts to wonder if maybe she isn’t what she seems to be.  This new Binky book will thrill fans of the series as Binky faces his biggest challenge yet.

Spires has created a series of books that have a strong sense of humor and great storylines.  She writes with dexterity and ease that readers will enjoy.   The illustrations in this graphic novel use many interesting perspectives and incorporate plenty of humor visually as well.  The palette for the books is subdued, giving it a signature look.

Highly recommended for fans of the series.  If you haven’t enjoyed the Binky series yet, start at the beginning.   I envy those lucky enough to read all three of the books in quick succession.  They are such fun!  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.

Review: Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman

| Tasha

cows to the rescue

Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman

This third book in a hilarious series follows Chickens to the Rescue and Pigs to the Rescue.  It’s time for the county fair where there will be plenty of opportunities for the cows to save the day.  They help when the truck won’t start by carrying the family, the pigs and the duck to the fair.  They fill in during the three-legged race so that Jeffrey would have someone to race with.  They help the duck win the Handsomest Duck contest by getting him cleaned up.  They filled in for family pictures at the fair.  In the end, they have done so much that they can’t make it home.  So it’s up to the duck to try to get everyone back to the farm.  Look out for the next book, which just might be Duck to the Rescue.

Himmelman has a great touch for humor, painting it in broad strokes without holding back.  His words may be simple, but they have a jolliness that make it a pleasure to read.  His use of page turns to delay the cow’s solutions also adds great timing into the book. 

His illustrations have a pleasant cartoon quality to them, which definitely adds to the humor of the title.  From the duck that gets caught up in the action to the tiny pig who has a great personality of his own, this book has so much to look at and enjoy.

If you enjoyed the first two books, make sure to check this one out.  And if you haven’t read the first two, you can start at any point.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt & Company.

Book Review: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

| Tasha

dead end in norvelt

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Released on September 13, 2011.

Gantos’ latest may just be one of his best, and with his successes before now, that is certainly saying something.  The book is an intriguing mix of memoir and fiction that has a protagonist named “Jack Gantos.”  Jack is a boy who loves history, war movies, and playing with his father’s war trophies, including a Japanese rifle.  When Jack takes a pretend shot at the outdoor movie theater screen from a long way away, the rifle actually goes off.  Jack gets caught in his parent’s feud over the use of a field, and ends up grounded for the summer.  The only way he gets to leave is to help a neighbor write the local obituaries.  Over the summer, he begins to help with more, including driving her on her other job of medical examiner.  When the original residents of their town start to die off, the question becomes if it’s murder or just old age.   One thing is for sure, you have to pay attention to history to figure it all out.

The writing in this book is clever and witty.  One never quite knows what is going to happen next, what new character will enter the story, or where it will go.  It’s a rollercoaster of a book, but one that is strong and steady as well.  Readers are in wild but good hands here.

Gantos has populated his story with all sorts of characters.  Jack is a boy whose nose gushes blood whenever he is scared, shocked, surprised, or emotional.  It becomes a barometer in the story of his emotions, and is just the first oddity of the book.  The neighbor lady who writes the obituaries is a character who is feisty, elderly, smart and sassy.  She is an unusual character for a tween/teen novel and one that enlivens the entire book.  Then there seem to be endless others that could be listed.  There is the police officer who rides a tricycle, the dead Hell’s Angels member who danced into town and could be carrying a plague, and Jack’s feuding parents too.

Norvelt is a great setting for a book.  It was a town created by Eleanor Roosevelt to give poor people a good start.  The economy was based on bartering, but that has fallen apart during these later years.  Now the homes are starting to empty, no new people want to move to town, and some homes are being sold and hauled away.  It is a town in disrepair that is not aging well.  Rather like the townsfolk themselves. 

A great read, this book has murder, some mayhem, and plenty of blood (though it comes out of Jack’s nose).   Get this into the hands of tweens and teens who enjoy humor and a bit of mystery.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from ARC received from Farrar Straus Giroux.

Also reviewed by

Book Review: Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan

| Tasha

betty bunny

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan, illustrated by Stephane Jorisch

Betty Bunny’s parents are always telling her that she’s a handful.  Since she knows they love her very much, she is certain that being a handful is something very, very good.  One day, her mother offers chocolate cake for dessert.  Betty Bunny refuses to try it at first, because it is new, but then gives in.  She realizes that it is very delicious, so delicious that she decides that she will marry chocolate cake.  The next day, she is obsessed with chocolate cake, unable to concentrate at all at school.  Once she got home, she was told she would have to eat a healthy dinner before she could have cake.  When her siblings tease her, Betty gets angry and throws food.  She’s sent to her room where she continues to think only of cake.  The next day, she is told there is a piece of cake just for her waiting in the refrigerator if only she will be patient through the day.  Betty Bunny knows the cake will be lonely all day, so she puts it in her pocket.  At home that evening, she realizes it has become a goopy mess in her pocket.  Her mother tries again, leaving a piece of cake just for her.  What in the world could Betty do next?

I know that this book will have some parents frustrated because it is not a picture book that demonstrates exemplary behavior from the children in the story.  But that is where the appeal of this book is for me.  Betty Bunny reads as a real child with an obsession.  She cries, gets angry, and thinks about it all the time.  But this book is not just about a child obsessed.  It is also the story of a family with older siblings and parents who use humor and clever approaches to deal with a child. 

The writing has wonderful moments built into it.  Betty’s insistence that she will marry chocolate cake because she loves it so much rings very real.  Her brother’s teasing about that over the course of days also reads as true.  It is a picture book that is written by people who have children, love children, and appreciate the humor that comes with them.

Jorisch’s illustrations are done in pencil, ink, watercolor and gouache.  They have a great mix of organic watercolor feel and angular modernism.  There is a bright warmth to them thanks to how colorful they are and a pleasant busyness that depicts the active family.

Highly recommended, this is not a book for parents who want an example for how their children should act.  But it is a great read-aloud filled with chocolate, sweets, temper tantrums and family.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books for Young Readers.

Also reviewed by

Book Review: All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen

| Tasha

All_My_Friends_Are_Dead

All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John

What looks like a small, chunky picture book is actually not a book for children at all.  Instead it is a very funny book for teens and adults that is filled with black humor yet an appealing cuteness as well.  From the tree whose friends are all end tables to the yeti whose friends are all hoaxes, turning each page leads to a new surprise. 

Readable in a matter of minutes, this book had both my husband and teen son reading it merrily aloud to me even though I had just read it myself.  Both stopped in the middle of their morning routines and read the book cover to cover, chuckling and laughing out loud. 

Get this in the hands of teens who will recognize the children’s format and also immediately get that this is a book that is not for the little ones.  It is a book that will have you laughing at death, much to your amazement and glee.