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A review by emesskay
Funny Business by Jon Scieszka
1.0
So first of all I was excited to see this book. I have a reluctant reader, but he has enjoyed other Scieszka books (Battle Bunny, The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales) and we were both hoping the book would have the kind of offbeat humor found in those books. Now about my reluctant reader - he is a good reader - reads above grade level - but it is hard to find a book that he likes. He doesn't like books that are too suspenseful as that stresses him out and ruins the enjoyment of the book. He doesn't like books where characters are mean to each other or really bad things happen to them (e.g. loss of parent or pet), because he thinks about how he would feel in that situation and that makes him sad. I still read to him at bedtime because if I can find a book he will like, he will read it on his own, but he is reluctant to start anything new on his own. So last night I read him the first story in the book. At the end of it he asked me "how is that story funny?" and I had to agree I didn't think it was very funny, either.
So how much did my kid dislike this book? Well, before this book we had been reading Swiss Family Robinson, which (if you haven't read it) is a very slow moving book, so no worries about suspense or anything, and all the adventures generally have a happy ending. My son has nicknamed the book "Animal Hell Island" because many of the adventures the people go on are as follows: find a new, exotic animal; Identify the animal and discuss its characteristics and where it is usually found; kill the animal and eat it. Usually when I pull out Swiss Family Robinson my son groans and pretends to be asleep because he finds the book so boring. Last night after reading the first story in Guys Read: Funny Business, my son asked me to please read him some from Swiss Family Robinson to counteract the unpleasant feelings engendered by the story.
There were some stories which were mildly amusing. The one about the homicidal turkey (while a funny concept) would have given my kid nightmares, as would the one about the aliens repelled by broccoli.
So to sum up - parents, you know your kid best, I recommend reading the book first for yourself and see if the kind of humor presented in the book is the kind of humor your kid appreciates.
So how much did my kid dislike this book? Well, before this book we had been reading Swiss Family Robinson, which (if you haven't read it) is a very slow moving book, so no worries about suspense or anything, and all the adventures generally have a happy ending. My son has nicknamed the book "Animal Hell Island" because many of the adventures the people go on are as follows: find a new, exotic animal; Identify the animal and discuss its characteristics and where it is usually found; kill the animal and eat it. Usually when I pull out Swiss Family Robinson my son groans and pretends to be asleep because he finds the book so boring. Last night after reading the first story in Guys Read: Funny Business, my son asked me to please read him some from Swiss Family Robinson to counteract the unpleasant feelings engendered by the story.
There were some stories which were mildly amusing. The one about the homicidal turkey (while a funny concept) would have given my kid nightmares, as would the one about the aliens repelled by broccoli.
So to sum up - parents, you know your kid best, I recommend reading the book first for yourself and see if the kind of humor presented in the book is the kind of humor your kid appreciates.