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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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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Used Books & Materials
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)
Ben and Me
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy's Play School
by Carolyn Haywood, illustrated by James Griffin
from William Morrow & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker & Marla Frazee
from Hyperion Books for Children
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
by Mo Willems
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
2004 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Frog and Toad Are Friends
An I Can Read Book Level 2 (Reading with Help)
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1971 Caldecott Honor Book
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
Frog and Toad Are Friends
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1971 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$11.89 (1 in stock)
Giggle Box
by Phyllis R. Fenner, illustrated by William Steig
1963 Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Golly Sisters Go West
by Betsy Byars
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Good American Witch
by Peggy Bacon
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$65.00 (1 in stock)
Gopher, Tanker, and the Admiral
by Shirley Climo, illustrated by Eileen McKeating
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh
50th Anniversary from Delacorte Press
Humorous Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Harry the Dirty Dog
by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Henry's Quest
by Graham Oakley
from Atheneum
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$60.00 (1 in stock)
Hippo Lemonade
by Mike Thaler
WRBC from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Homer Price
Puffin Modern Classics
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
by Theo. LeSieg
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
If You Made a Million
by David M. Schwartz, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Igraine The Brave
by Cornelia Funke
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Incredible Detectives
by Don & Joan Caufield, illustrated by Kiyo Komoda
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Journey Cake, Ho!
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1954 Caldecott Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Junket
by Anne H. White, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
2nd printing from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
by Audrey & Don Wood
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Loony Limericks from Alabama to Wyoming
by Jack Stokes
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mishmash
by Molly Cone, illustrated by Leonard Shortall
3rd printing from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
No Mouse for Me
by Robert Quackenbush
from Franklin Watts
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Noodles, Nitwits, and Numbskulls
by Maria Leach, illustrated by Kurt Werth
1971 printing from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Once the Hodja
by Alice Geer Kelsey, illustrated by Frank Dobias
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Paper Bag Princess
by Robert Munsch
39th Printing, December 2000 from Annick Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (3 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)
Pippi Goes on Board
Pippi Longstocking #2
by Astrid Lindgren
from Viking Press
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Pippi Longstocking
Pippi Longstocking #1
by Astrid Lindgren
from Scholastic Inc.
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (11 in stock)
Poke in the I
by Paul Janeczko
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Poppleton
Poppleton #1 of 5
by Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Mark Teague
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
1982 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Real Thief
by William Steig
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Snowbound with Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
6th printing, 1969 from Yearling
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$125.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Story of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Two Bad Ants
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away
by Mary Nash
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Whipping Boy
by Sid Fleischman
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (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)
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