Humor & Comedy

You know a book's funny if you're reading it alone and laughing hysterically. Of course, the really great comic masterpieces are also deep reflections on humanity and life and death (like Huckleberry Finn or All Creatures Great and Small or Calvin & Hobbes). Frequently, though, you just need to guffaw, and the literary quality of the piece isn't quite as important as the laugh-factor.

Not that you want to read swill. Cheap laughs might be funny on the surface, but the jokes that actually say something are generally funnier than the ones that simply point and snicker. It's easy to think we're superior because we get the joke, but in reality a lot of modern comedy is no more than the absence of reverence. Real comedy is simply an incongruous presentation of a familiar idea that amuses with its absurdity while offering a new view.

Before you dismiss the need for humor on religious grounds (suggesting that Jesus is the Man of Sorrows, and so must we be in order to be like Him), remember that the "laughter is good medicine" image comes from the Bible (Proverbs 17:22), and that as the Creator of everything God invented laughter. He invented jokes. As the perfect man, Jesus probably told the best jokes ever.

We have a few of them—a rich person will enter heaven as easily as a camel getting through the eye of a needle, or the one about the Pharisee and the plebe who go into the temple at the same time to pray. Jesus clearly saw the absurdity of life (in both of the cases mentioned, the absurdity of human pride), and used it to direct people to the Author of Meaning.

Basically, laughter is really good and you should try it sometime. If you're a little rusty and need a boost, read a funny book: maybe the heartwarming but hysterical adventures of the Gilbreth clan in Cheaper by the Dozen, or the pure zaniness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or the heartwarming zaniness of Jeeves and Wooster. Whatever you do, smile more, frown less, and for goodness' sake take laughter seriously.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Adventures of Tintin - Complete Package
by Herge
from Little, Brown & Company
Comic Book for 2nd-6th grade
in Adventures of Tintin (Location: COM-TIN)
$241.39
Alexander, Who's Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move
by Judith Viorst
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Amelia Bedelia Helps Out
I Can Read Level 2
by Peggy Parish
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Amelia Bedelia's Masterpiece
I Can Read! Level 2
by Herman Parish, Illustrated by Lynn Sweat
from HarperTrophy
for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt
First School Experiences for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Back to School with Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Odyssey Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.95
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona Collection Book 1
by Beverly Cleary
Reissue from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Boy
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Boy
by Roald Dahl
1999 reissue from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Captain Nobody
by Dean Pitchford
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Charlie Muffin's Miracle Mouse
by Dick King-Smith
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker & Marla Frazee
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Dodsworth in New York
by Tim Egan
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$4.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Dodsworth in Rome
Green Light Level 3
by Tim Egan
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$4.99
Dodsworth in Tokyo
Green Light Readers Level 3
by Tim Egan
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$4.99
Don't Frighten the Lion!
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Elbert's Bad Word
by Audrey Wood
1st edition from Sandpiper Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package
Tales from Deckawoo Drive Book 4
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Figgs & Phantoms
by Ellen Raskin
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Flora & Ulysses
by Kate DiCamillo
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2014 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Good Old Archibald
by Ethelyn M. Parkinson
from Bethlehem Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.95
Hank the Cowdog #01
Hank the Cowdog #1
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #02
Hank the Cowdog #2
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #03
Hank the Cowdog #3
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #04
Hank the Cowdog #4
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #05
Hank the Cowdog #5
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #06
Hank the Cowdog #6
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #07
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #08
Hank the Cowdog #8
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #08
Hank the Cowdog #8
by John R. Erickson
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Hank the Cowdog #09
Hank the Cowdog #9
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #10
Hank the Cowdog #10
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #11
Hank the Cowdog #11
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #12
Hank the Cowdog #12
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #13
Hank the Cowdog #13
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$5.99
Hank the Cowdog #13
by John R. Erickson
Reissue from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
Hank the Cowdog #14
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #15
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #16
Hank the Cowdog #16
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #17
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #18
Hank the Cowdog #18
by John R. Erickson
Reprint from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #19
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #20
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$6.99
Hank the Cowdog #21
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
Happy Days At Bullerby
by Astrid Lindgren
from Mammoth
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Happy Yellow Car
by Polly Horvath
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Spies Again
by Helen Ericson (based on Louise Fitzhugh)
Reprint from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Hidden Gallery
Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book II
by Maryrose Wood
Revised from Balzer & Bray
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A
by Marjorie Priceman
Reprint from Dragonfly Books
Humor for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
by Marjorie Priceman
from Dragonfly Books
Humor for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place - Set
by Maryrose Wood
Reprint from Balzer & Bray
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Interrupted Tale
Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book IV
by Maryrose Wood
Reprint from Balzer & Bray
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Invisible Stanley
by Jeff Brown
Reissue from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Kenny & the Dragon
by Tony DiTerlizzi
from Simon and Schuster
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Library
by Sarah Stewart
from Square Fish Publishing
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Long-Lost Home
Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book VI
by Maryrose Wood
Reprint from Balzer & Bray
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Mercy Watson Fights Crime
Mercy Watson #3
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride
Mercy Watson #2
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig
Mercy Watson #5
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Mercy Watson #1
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
1 Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise
Mercy Watson #4
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson: Something Wonky this Way Comes
Mercy Watson #6
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mother West Wind's Neighbors
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #4
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00
Mouse Called Wolf
by Dick King-Smith
Reprint from Yearling
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mr. Ape
by Dick King-Smith
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish
by Cynthia Rylant
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Muggie Maggie
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.59
Mysterious Howling
Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book I
by Maryrose Wood
Reprint from Balzer & Bray
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Old Granny Fox
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #28
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Once a Mouse
by Marcia Brown
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1962 Caldecott Medal Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Paul Bunyan
by Steven Kellogg
from William Morrow & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Ramona and Her Mother
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Ramona Forever
Ramona Quimby Books
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
Humorous Stories for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Ramona the Brave
Ramona Quimby Books
by Beverly Cleary
Reprint from HarperCollins
Humorous Stories for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Real Thief
by William Steig
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Reluctant Dragon
by Kenneth Grahame
from Holiday House
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Ribsy
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
School Mouse
by Dick King-Smith
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Sheep in a Jeep
by Nancy E. Shaw
English Language from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Sick Day
by Patricia MacLachlan
from Dell Publishing
Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Soup on Ice
by Robert Newton Peck
from Yearling
for 3rd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Stanley's Christmas Adventure
by Jeff Brown
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Stella Endicott and the Anything-is-Possible Poem
Tales from Deckawoo Drive Book 5
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Talented Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker & Marla Frazee
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia
by Peggy Parish
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
Teacher's Funeral
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Three Little Pigs
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Tikki Tikki Tembo
by Arlene Mosel
from Square Fish Publishing
Humorous Folk Tale for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Unmapped Sea
Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book V
by Maryrose Wood
Reprint from Balzer & Bray
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Unseen Guest
Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book III
by Maryrose Wood
Reprint from Balzer & Bray
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
War Between the Vowels and the Consonants
by Priscilla Turner
from Sunburst Book
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Whipping Boy
by Sid Fleischman
First Scholastic Printing from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Wind Blew
by Pat Hutchins
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)