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tami_provencher's review against another edition
4.0
I truly enjoyed Funny Girl. Edited by Betsy Bird, Funny Girl is a collection of poems, stories, comics, and essays by women authors, aimed specifically at girls around the 3rd to 6th grade demographic. The contents are both fictional and personal experiences, by turns witty and inspiring. Many of the best voices in current children's literature have contributed to this book and it shows! Accessible and thoroughly entertaining stories are fused with the strong message from these women to young girls everywhere: find your own voice and have the courage to use it--and laugh a little on the way.
Populated by authors such as Shannon Hale, Rita Garcia-Williams, Ursula Vernon, Jennifer Holm. Raina Telgemeier, Cece Bell, Lisa Graff and Lenore Look--among others--there is a variety of style and story here that makes this one of the best story collections I have ever read for this age group.
Alison Decamp's Dear Grandpa: Give Me Money was so funny I immediately went to my library site and reserved her book My Near-Death Adventures 99% true!. I realized I had actually checked it out before but, for whatever reason, had returned it without reading it. I am now excited to pick it up again and dive in! The zany, hilarious, over-the-top comedy of errors in Lisa Graff's Over and Out and Shannon Hale's Babysitting Nightmare had me chuckling out loud. I was thrilled to see One Hot Mess by Carmen Agra Deedy (whose book The Cheshire Cheese Cat I loved!) in which she relates an example of how your family can feel normal to you before the day you realize not every family does things the way you do. Akilah Hughes' storytelling stood out to me so much in Swimming Is For Other Kids that I looked her up at the library and discovered she has a 2019 memoir out called Obviously: stories from my timeline which I have also reserved and look forward to reading in the next week or so! The comics from Cece Bell and Amy Ignatow are both clever and delightful. And Mitali Perkins' Brown Girl Pop Quiz: All of The Above openly expresses her frustration with Indian stereotypes in a way that's both humorous and pointed.
I started and finished Funny Girl in one sitting but because it is a collection of stories it's the perfect book to reach for when you just want a short, self-contained entertaining story. I highly recommend this one as an independent read for girls ages 9 - 11, or it would be a fun mother-daughter read! (I would totally use it as one if my daughter were still in the target audience for this book!)
Populated by authors such as Shannon Hale, Rita Garcia-Williams, Ursula Vernon, Jennifer Holm. Raina Telgemeier, Cece Bell, Lisa Graff and Lenore Look--among others--there is a variety of style and story here that makes this one of the best story collections I have ever read for this age group.
Alison Decamp's Dear Grandpa: Give Me Money was so funny I immediately went to my library site and reserved her book My Near-Death Adventures 99% true!. I realized I had actually checked it out before but, for whatever reason, had returned it without reading it. I am now excited to pick it up again and dive in! The zany, hilarious, over-the-top comedy of errors in Lisa Graff's Over and Out and Shannon Hale's Babysitting Nightmare had me chuckling out loud. I was thrilled to see One Hot Mess by Carmen Agra Deedy (whose book The Cheshire Cheese Cat I loved!) in which she relates an example of how your family can feel normal to you before the day you realize not every family does things the way you do. Akilah Hughes' storytelling stood out to me so much in Swimming Is For Other Kids that I looked her up at the library and discovered she has a 2019 memoir out called Obviously: stories from my timeline which I have also reserved and look forward to reading in the next week or so! The comics from Cece Bell and Amy Ignatow are both clever and delightful. And Mitali Perkins' Brown Girl Pop Quiz: All of The Above openly expresses her frustration with Indian stereotypes in a way that's both humorous and pointed.
I started and finished Funny Girl in one sitting but because it is a collection of stories it's the perfect book to reach for when you just want a short, self-contained entertaining story. I highly recommend this one as an independent read for girls ages 9 - 11, or it would be a fun mother-daughter read! (I would totally use it as one if my daughter were still in the target audience for this book!)
backonthealex's review against another edition
3.0
On the train to and from NYC and Hershey, I did get to read this new anthology of stories edited by Betsy Bird. You've no doubt heard of all the authors who contributed to this work, and they are pretty funny. Among my favorites were "Dear Grandpa: Give Me Money" by Alison DeCamp, "Swimming is for Other Kids" by Akitah Hughes (and a story I can personally relate to), and "Brown Girl Pop Quiz: All of the Above" by Mitali Perkins. There are a wide variety of story topics but they are all definitely related to growing up girl.
A word of warning: if you are reading this on Amtrak, do not sit in the quiet car - loud laughing annoys the other passengers and interrupts their frantic scrolling on their phones to find something interesting to read.
A word of warning: if you are reading this on Amtrak, do not sit in the quiet car - loud laughing annoys the other passengers and interrupts their frantic scrolling on their phones to find something interesting to read.
scostner's review against another edition
4.0
Editor Betsy Bird has collected some wonderfully funny writing, all by female writers. Well, there was one brother involved, but she assures us that they kept "him in line." (That would be Jennifer Holm's brother, Matt.) The book is a mix of graphic shorts, advice on various subjects, short stories (some semi-autobiographical), quizzes, and even MadLibs to predict your future. Whatever the chosen format, they are all humorous. There is Carmen Agra Deedy's story of her mother setting fire to the bathtub. Raina Telgemeier's "Killer Bee" incident. Mitali Perkins has a great "Brown Girl Pop Quiz" in which she points out that Western movies should be more like Bollywood productions. "Think of Jedi knights doing a choreographed number after the Death Star explodes," she suggests. The explanation of the Chinese Zodiac by Lenore Look includes things like lucky nail colors (if you are Rabbit, "None...The less noticeable your feet are, the better."), or unlucky career choices (for Monkey, "Involuntary astronaut in early space programs"). One of my favorites is the recurring "Fleamail" advice column by Bella and Rover, written by Deborah Underwood. This cat and dog team offer hilarious advice to other animals, once even trying out a "Pawed Cast" format.
If you know middle grade readers who are always asking for more "funny books," then you should add this to your shelf. Whether it is advice on playing imaginary games from Leila Sales or a babysitting comedy/horror tale from Shannon Hale, all the pieces in the collection fit the bill. On second thought, you had better buy multiple copies.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
If you know middle grade readers who are always asking for more "funny books," then you should add this to your shelf. Whether it is advice on playing imaginary games from Leila Sales or a babysitting comedy/horror tale from Shannon Hale, all the pieces in the collection fit the bill. On second thought, you had better buy multiple copies.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
hsquared's review against another edition
5.0
Betsy Bird has brought together a diverse group of some of the funniest contemporary female writers in this hilarious anthology for middle-graders. Shannon Hale's hysterical short story about a baby-sitting nightmare is sure to have readers laughing out loud, as will Carmen Agra Deedy's story about her mom setting fire to the bathtub. Comic-type stories include Lisa Brown's brief memoir about her brother sticking a Tic-Tac up his nose. Leila Sales' how to for playing make-believe should be required reading. Sprinkled throughout the collection are mad libs, poetry, quizzes, and an ongoing pet advice column from a cat and dog duo created by Deborah Underwood. And budding comedians will want to soak up all the advice from professionals like Adrienne Chalepah. This much needed anthology has something to tickle every funny bone.
*NetGalley digital advanced reader copy
*NetGalley digital advanced reader copy
jillcd's review against another edition
3.0
A good selection of short stories geared for girls written by various popular authors. There are some gems in here!
toryhallelujah's review against another edition
1.0
Wow. If this is meant to prove how funny ladies can be, then ladies apparently just aren't funny. Except for Raina Telgemeier's comic, Carmen Agra Deedy's tale of her germaphohic mom, and Shannon Hale's babysitting nightmare, this entire collection is eye-rollingly boring, cringey, and will leave you wondering "WHO thought this was funny?"
And it's not just the age group it's targeted for -- I've read plenty of hilarious middle-years stuff! Just not in this book.
And it's not just the age group it's targeted for -- I've read plenty of hilarious middle-years stuff! Just not in this book.
cjeziorski's review against another edition
4.0
These stories were great, and definitely funny, but it read older than I expected. I thought it’s intended audience was upper elementary kids, but it seemed more middle/high school in content.
wordnerd153's review against another edition
3.0
As with most anthologies, some stories are more entertaining than others. Middle school girls will definitely relate.
gracejin's review against another edition
I don't like it.
Raina's comic infuriated me. What kind of example is stomping on a bee (killing it) so you could pet it? Bees are crucial to our world. Without them, we would die. So the fact that young Raina just stomped on it was really careless and stupid. I know she was just a kid, but come on, not a good example for kids- it just teaches them to be scared of bees and not respect them.
The period one was not great, I wish it better represented periods and people with them. :/
I hated Lisa Graff's Over and Out. Why did they have to act like that...
The zodiac one was a terrible representation of the Chinese Zodiac.
I don't recommend this book to anyone I wouldn't have enjoyed this as a kid either.
Raina's comic infuriated me. What kind of example is stomping on a bee (killing it) so you could pet it? Bees are crucial to our world. Without them, we would die. So the fact that young Raina just stomped on it was really careless and stupid. I know she was just a kid, but come on, not a good example for kids- it just teaches them to be scared of bees and not respect them.
The period one was not great, I wish it better represented periods and people with them. :/
I hated Lisa Graff's Over and Out. Why did they have to act like that...
The zodiac one was a terrible representation of the Chinese Zodiac.
I don't recommend this book to anyone I wouldn't have enjoyed this as a kid either.