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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300 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Children's Classics
by Mark Twain, Illustrated by Peter Fiore
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 5th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Books of Wonder
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 Paperback
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
1987 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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
Adventures of Tintin - Young Readers Collection
by Herge
for 2nd-6th grade
in Adventures of Tintin (Location: COM-TIN)
$52.76
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
from International Collectors Library
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Norman Rockwell
from Heritage Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Books of Wonder
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Barry Moser
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Ted Lewin
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Kamil Lohták
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Worth Brehm
from Harper & Brothers
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer / Tom Sawyer Abroad / Tom Sawyer, Detective
by Mark Twain
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from Michael Neugebauer
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by A. E. Jackson
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Ralph Steadman
from Firefly Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by June Goulding
from Parragon Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Blushing Rose Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Chartwell Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Windermere Readers #5
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 edition from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Windermere Series 1
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Windermere Series 2
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Windermere Series 3
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Windermere Series 4
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Milo Winter
1938 printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Roberta Paflin
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-7th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Penguin Classics
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Easton Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Leather Bound Collectible Books (Location: VIN-LEA)
Another Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America
by Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Applewhites at Wits End
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Applewhites Coast to Coast
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Austere Academy
Series of Unfortunate Events #5
by Lemony Snicket
from HarperCollins
Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Bad Beginning
Series of Unfortunate Events #1
by Lemony Snicket
from HarperCollins
Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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
Belles On Their Toes
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
from HarperCollins
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Big Bad Ironclad!
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #2
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Blades of Freedom
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #10
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
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)
Calvin & Hobbes Collection
by Bill Watterson
from Andrews McMeel
for 5th-9th grade
in Calvin and Hobbes (Location: COM-CAL)
$159.69
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)
Centerburg Tales
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Centerburg Tales
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Charlie McTwiddle and the Wobbly-Wheeled Sputter Putter Popper
by Jerry Warner, illustrated by Jim Conlin
1st edition from Windsor Medallion
for 3rd-6th grade
in Humor & Comedy (Location: FIC-COM)
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
1st edition 1st printing from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, notes by Frederick Houk Law
2nd School Edition from Globe Book Company
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Children of Noisy Village
by Astrid Lindgren
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang
by Ian Fleming
from Random House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Classic Library: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
from Smithmark Publishers
for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Clockwork Twin
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Colonel Meacham's Giant Cheese
by Rosemary S. Nesbitt
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear
by Edward Lear, collected and introduced by Holbrook Jackson
from Dover Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Doctor Dolittle's Post Office
by Hugh Lofting
from Mayflower Books
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
Doctor Dolittle #6
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
Doctor Dolittle #6
by Hugh Lofting
1967th edition from Mayflower Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Donner Dinner Party
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #3
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
Double Fudge
by Judy Blume
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Eddie the Dog Holder
by Carolyn Haywood
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Education of Little Tree
by Forrest Carter
from University of New Mexico Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Ellen Tebbits
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Ersatz Elevator
Series of Unfortunate Events #6
by Lemony Snicket
from HarperCollins
Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Everything on a Waffle
by Polly Horvath
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Humor & Comedy (Location: FIC-COM)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Everything on a Waffle
by Polly Horvath
First Square Fish, May 2008 from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Everything on a Waffle
by Polly Horvath
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
in Humor & Comedy (Location: FIC-COM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Eye of Zoltar
Chronicles of Kazam Book 3
by Jasper Fforde
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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)
Freddy and Mr. Camphor
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and Mr. Camphor
by Walter R. Brooks
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and Simon the Dictator
by Walter R. Brooks
Reissue from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and the Bean Home News
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and the Dragon
by Walter R. Brooks
Reprint from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and the Flying Saucer Plans
by Walter R. Brooks
Reprint from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and the Ignormus
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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