Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliot

Q: Why wouldn’t the lion eat the clown?  

A: He tasted funny.  

Nothing lightens the heavy mood common in detention centers more easily than jokes, even the groan-inducing variety.  Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids keeps it clean and punny with this light volume divided into five sections, the largest of which are riddles, animal jokes, and knock-knock jokes.  The other two, tongue twisters and “Some Things to Think About” are pleasant add-ons for the reader whose mouth is beginning to hurt from laughing but not yet ready to put the book away.  Perfect for younger students who are just now ready for language play and looking for an easy laugh, or a developing reader who enjoys the performative and/ or social aspects of literacy. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Elliot, Rob.  Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids.  Grand Rapids: Spire, 2010.

Jokelopedia compiled by Ilana Weitzman, Eva Blank, Alison Benjamin, and Rosanne Green

Nothing brings people together like a joke so silly that it just cracks you up.  Luckily, Jokelopedia is chock full of them.

“Why was the margarine unhappy when she gave birth to marmalade?

She was expecting something butter”

“What did the 0 say to the 8?

Nice belt.”

“What’s the fastest way to crash a computer?

Let an adult use it.”

Now, I admit, that last one hit a little too close for this librarian’s comfort, but it is the wealth of jokes like these that pulls groups of disparate teens together for shared reading, laughing, and groaning.  Interspersed with the one-liners are pages of comedy history, comedy biographies, step-by-step procedures for a multitude of practical jokes, ample cartoons and illustrations, and longer-form narrative jokes.  Jokelopedia is an engaging, low-stress read, sure to elicit a smile (or an amused grimace). --Regan Schwartz

Weitzman, Ilana, et al, eds. Jokelopedia. New York: Workman Publishing, 2006. Print.

Yo’ Mama is So... by Hugh Payne

Hugh Payne wants you to know he has nothing against yo mama. He hopes she has a sense of humor. This little 256 page joke book averages four one-liners per page and is a perfect stress-free read for the reader who likes his white space riddled with laughs. My favorite part of this volume are the insults between famous people, like Golda Meir on Moshe Dayan : “Don’t be so humble, Moshe, you’re not that great” (p154). I can only hope that the student reader already knows who Meir and Dayan are, and if she doesn’t that this will lead to some wondering and research. Other sections educators can appreciate include the “Insults, courtesy of William Shakespeare” (p 209), a wonderful introduction to the Bard if there ever was one for Passages’ students about to dive into encountering Shakespearean English. Teachers will also and the epilogue, in which the author exhorts the reader to apologize when appropriate.