GENRE PROJECT

HUMOR

By

Kathryn AustMargaret BarreraElizabeth HuberMarjorie Kennedy

OVERVIEW OF GENRE

Humorous books are a great way to get children interested in reading. It is important to create

positive reading experiences with any age and books that are humorous are a great way to create those moments. Even the most reluctant reader will find

enjoyment in a book when he or she can laugh at it. The Humor genre is one that children can easily

relate to and enjoy. Humor often comes from real life experiences that are magnified to become ridiculous.

Many times this helps tweens accept and laugh at their own life experiences and makes the material

relevant. In addition, it is important to provide Tweens with a variety of reading materials within the genre

that are out of the ordinary and have different structures and formats (such as joke books or comic

books).

• First book of the “Fudge” series.

• Could also be considered Realistic Fiction

• Told from the perspective of a 9 year old with a younger sibling.

• Recounts the often frustrating yet funny circumstances Peter finds himself in because of his younger brother Fudge.

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• One of ALA’s most challenged books of 1999-2000

• Billy and his friends make a $50 bet that Billy can’t eat 15 worms in 15 days.

• They think up all kinds of ways to cook the worms to make them more appealing.

• Gross out humor.

• Could also be considered Realistic Fiction.

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• Takes place in Norway.

• After Nilly moves to Norway he meets an eccentric inventor named Doctor Proctor and his neighbor Lisa.

• Nilly and Lisa help Doctor Proctor use his invention, Fart Powder.

• An evil neighbor tries to steal the invention.

• Randomness & silliness ensue in a hilarious story about the uses of the Fart Powder.

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• Mr. & Mrs. Twit are ugly, smelly and mean spirited people who love to play tricks on others.

• Mrs. Twit has a cane to hit children and animals with.

• They especially mean to their monkey Muggle-Wump and his family.

• One day the animals get a wonderfully silly revenge.

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• 1st book of the Wayside School series.

• Wayside school was supposed to be 30 classes long, but was accidentally built 30 classes high!

• Each chapter tells of a new silly story highlighting a different student or teacher.

• Wacky and silly stories of the strange happenings at Wayside School.

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•Winner of the Christopher Award•Could also be considered realistic fiction•A humorous take on creativity and the power of words•Nicholas Allen’s fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Granger loves the dictionary, but Nicholas also loves coming up with ideas to drive his teachers crazy.•When Nicholas decides he’s going to create his own new word, frindle-mania ensues.

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•Newbery Honor Book•Could also be considered realistic fiction•Jake Semple is trouble – he’s been kicked out of every other school and foster home in his homestate.•The Applewhites are a family of artists who run a home school. Jake has to make this arrangement work or he’s off to juvie.

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•Could also be realistic fiction•Wallace Wallace is the “accidental” 8th grade football superhero who, after his parents’ divorce, vowed to always tell the truth.•As part of a punishment for criticizing his teacher’s favorite book, he is assigned to work with the drama club who is bringing another “dog” story to the stage.

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•Also could be fantasy•Originally published in1972•Ten-year-old Henry Green loves chocolate for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snack in between•One day, Henry develops a rash of brown spots and is eventually diagnosed with the first-ever case of “Chocolate Fever”, making him a “walking candy bar”•Characters’ names add to the humor – Mrs. Kimmelfarber, Mr. Pangalos, Nurse Farthing

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•Newbery Honor Book•Prequel to A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (Newbery Medal)•Told in short story chapters, each chronicling a summer spent by Joey and Mary Alice Dowdel at their Grandma’s home in the country•Joey and Mary Alice visit their Grandmother Dowdel for seven summers from 1929-1935 and partake in a variety of comical antics

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•Newbery Honor Book•First published in 1938•Mr. Popper loves exploration of the arctic poles, and writes to one of his heroes, Admiral Drake•Admiral Drake sends Mr. Popper a penguin. Mr. Popper gets a mate for the penguin at the zoo, and together, they have ten baby penguins•Mr. Popper trains the penguins to become a traveling act•Admiral Drake comes to watch the act, and takes the penguins, along with Mr. Popper, on a journey back to the arctic where they belong

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•Published back in 1943•Book is part of a series about the Moffat family•Rufus is the youngest of the four Moffat children•The Moffats are being raised by a single parent, their mother, in the World War I era•Rufus is smart and clever, and can solve any problem in his own creative way•Rufus creates make believe characters and travels on imaginary adventures

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•Introductory story of Henry Huggins, who later appears in many other stories written by Beverly Cleary•Story takes place in the 1950’s•Henry and his family live on Klickita Street in Portland, Oregon•Henry thinks his life is boring, until he meets a stray dog, Ribsy •Henry travels on an adventurous journey home to Klickita Street with Ribsy and comedy ensues

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•Collection of zany and humorous poetry•Written by one of the first Children’s Poet Laureate, Prelutsky•Prelutsky provides a cd with the book where he performs all of the poetry so children can sing along•The poetry talks about such wondrous things as pigs wearing bathing suits, a pet orangutan that play chess, and underwater marching bands.

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•Matilda Wormwood is 5 years old•She is a child prodigy and teaches herself to read at the age of 3.•She does not like her dishonest and deceitful parents, and pranks them often.•She attends Crunchem Hall Primary School where she encounters the evil Head Mistress Miss Trunchbull and her favorite teacher, Miss Honey•Miss Honey and Matilda become close friends and allies, and team up against Miss Trunchbull.•Matilda’s parents are forced to flee the country and they leave Matilda behind in the care of Miss Honey.

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•A legendary classical novel written by Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain•Rediscover this humorous, adventurous tale which was originally written in 1876•Meet the memorable characters of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Becky Thatcher, Aunt Polly, and Injun Joe

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•The first in the series of humorous books written by Jeff Kinney•Discover the thoughts of a typical middle school boy trying to survive the first year of middle school•Laugh out loud at the misadventures of Greg Heffley

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•Follow Homer Price as he goes through life in a small town where comical adventures occur•Robert McCloskey is the winner of two Caldecott Awards•Read the book that inspired the making of two short films

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•Meet Pippi Longstocking, the most precocious Swedish girl you’ll ever encounter•Originally written in Swedish and translated by Florence Lamborn•This book is filled with stories that are not only humorous, but adventurous as well

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•The first book in “The Series of Unfortunate Events” series•Lemony Snicket is the pen name of Daniel Handler•If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.”-Lemony Snicket

CLOSING QUOTES

“If we are serious about getting kids to read, making them laugh is a great beginning.” (Follos, 2010, p. 37)

“When successful, humor in literature is well written, exquisitely executed, and perfectly paced. It can be a joy ride through the literary experience.” (Follos, 2010, p. 37)

“Life literally abounds in comedy if we just look around .”

-Mel Brooks“You can turn painful situations around through

laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.”

-Bill Cosby