Arnold the Prickly Teddy by Kym Lardner

Prickly fur is definitely not a teddy bear's best asset, it endears you to no-one, so it seems. Arnold sits day after day gathering dust  in a toy shop in the midst of the fast-selling pink and softer variety of ted. Despite a price reduction, he still doesn't sell and finds himself unceremoniously tossed into a rubbish skip. Luckily, after almost two days of lying among broken toys and wrapping paper, a small had reaches up and liberates Arnold, and his life suddenly takes a turn for the better. This is a heart-warming story that really illustrates the power of love. Kim Lardner has a straight-forward engaging writing style and his huge, detailed and very colourful drawings bring the text to life. 

Kym spends a lot of time touring around and entertaining children with his story-telling, illustrations and songs. He came to Illawarra Primary School a few years back when I was teaching there, and I think I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed another performance as much as his.

If you would like to hear Kim Lardner and appreciate his sense of humour, click on the following link:

http://www.summerreadingclub.slq.qld.gov.au/archive/src08_09/listen_to_kym_lardner

That's Dangerous by Pittau & Gervais

This is a subversively humorous book which explores the dangers toddlers and small children face with the simple descriptor at the end of each possible self-harming activity stating THAT'S DANGEROUS! It looks at things that kids are notorious for doing such as pulling a cat's tail, stinking fingers into a fan, playing with scissors, through to the more life threatening but  less likely behaviours such as using a hair dryer in the bath, or playing with a gun. As the book progresses, the text gets bigger. For sure, some people may be offended by, or critical of such a book,  but it is just something different, and very  tongue in cheek. It's probably not something you would read to your toddler of Kindergarten child. Middle and upper primary students enjoy its bizarre nature. Let's face it, these are things that kids do. The drawings are minimalistic, simplistic but colourful. If you or your child  has a twisted sense of humour, then you will definitely enjoy this book. Francesco Pittau studied painting and carving at Ecole des Beaux-Art. He has written and illustrated many graphic novels and now has turned his skills to producing books for children. Bernadette Gervais was born in Belgium  studied painting  at Ecole des Beaux-Art in Paris and now illustrates books for children and adolescence. They live in the outskirts of Paris with their children and have collaborated together on some forty books.

The Singing Hat by Tohby Riddle

I just adored this completely absurd story The Singing Hat by Tohby Riddle. Colin Jenkins awakes one day after a nap under a tree only to find that his head is now adorned with a bird's nest complete with bird. Not wishing to interfere with nature, he decides that he can carry on his daily routines with his new hat. The bird brings both positive and negative things into his life. Life becomes even more challenging when the eggs in "hat" hatch just as he is being dismissed from his job! It is a book of contrasts, as too is the illustrative style with solid and lightly sketched images. The pen and ink gouache, collage are cartoon like and add to the humour in the story. It's definitely a book to share with middle and upper primary students as they would appreciate the ambiguity and the amusing incidents much more than a younger reader. This book was first published in 2000 in Australia and has one a number of awards for both literature and design. These include Honour Book in the Australian and CBC Picture Book of the Year Awards and APA Best Designed Cover. So if you enjoy the bizarre you will love this book. The following website has some excellent discussion and teaching ideas on the book as well as some questions which could be explored:

http://www.tohby.com/Images/Notes_on_TheSingingHat.pdf

School by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins

School by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins takes a comical look inside British schools. It puts kid types under the microscope analysing the school bully, the teacher's pet, the creep, the cry baby, the blabbermouth (you know...the walking megaphone) and of course the goody-goody who presides in every classroom. And please let's not forget those kids who are just plain evil! Every school has those dark and sinister beings courtesy of the today's growing number of disfunctional families. Then there are the dunces, the smokers, and the zombies, and just plain bonkers, known as the twits. You can also explore the curriculum looking closely at lessons and learning. What does clock watching mean?  What does an "x" on your work really signify? Then there is the horror or horrors; the dreaded homework! School would not be complete without nits and zits, now what does that mean for you? This book even has an instructional text on how to deal with those annoying pimples and abscesses. But beware: this section is not for the light-hearted.  If you are not sure on how to conduct yourself, refer to the very informative section  called Mind Your Manners and learn how to socially acceptably deal with burping, boogies, flatulence and excessive snot. Learn what to do when the classroom budget is blown and there are no tissues. The teacher types and traits section is equally entertaining and you are sure to be able to classify your teacher. As for punishments, the mind boggles! Decide for yourself the relevance in this day and age of the cane, lines, detentions, reports and of course the age old tradition of expulsion which simply means everyone in a position of authority has  run out of ideas. The labelled illustrations only add to the fun. read a copy of School today and get ahead! The end papers are just as entertaining, especially at the back. Hmm, I can remember writing at least a thousand times in Miss Vickers class "I must not swing on my chair."

The Little Worm Book by Janet & Allan Ahlberg

The Little Worm Book by the well-known author/illustrators Janet and Allan Ahlberg, which was first published in 1979, is a tongue in cheek study of worms for little kids with a subversive sense of humour. It looks at the physical characteristics of a worm, worms as pets and what to look out for when buying your first worm, worms around the world, and worms in warfare. My favourite section is the main health hazards which a worm faces:

So if you want something light-hearted which would provoke a lot of philosophical discussion about worms, then this is a great book to share with anyone really, except maybe a blackbird. Just remember worms makes good pets, being more loyal than snails, much more fun than a slug and less liable to fly away than a ladybird.

A Teddy Bear's Little Instruction Book by David & Tracey Brawn

This is a light-hearted read which adults and children would enjoy alike. It was given to me by a beautiful young student Miriam back in 1996 and I have read it many times. It has some little words of wisdom, some play on words and some advice from a teddy bear's point of view. At the bottom of each page is an ink teddy. You can flip through the pages rapidly to watch a bear descend from the sky with a balloon and do a  short dance routine...or, flip it the other way and watch him do this in reverse. It sits upon one of the shelves in the little shelves of little books.  Here is some great advice if you are a bear.

If you are a bear

*get plenty of exercise - walk round and round the garden

*Eat up - obesity is more acceptable in a bear than anorexia

*Travel in style - not hanging from the rear-view mirror

*Don't become a projectile in domestic disputes

*Never be a substitute handkerchief

*Avoid the indignity of the Lost Property Office

*When camping, take only the bear essentials

*Handwashing is much more gentler than going in the washing machine

*Don't be ashamed if you are stuffed with old tights.

The Hypnotiser by Michael Rosen

This is true to Michael's Rosens quirky  and sometimes side-splitting style.  His poems are created out of real situations which confront kids in every day life from the difficulty of eating a soggy pizza stuck in its paper bag on a train to a boy's beloved gold fish dying in its tank. There are many about the family and the funny little situations families are often confronting on a day to day basis. Many students will be able to identify with the themes in these poems. So, this poetry book joins two others by Rosen in our little classroom library. I promise the poems will brings smiles to your faces. Below is Rosen reading one of his poems from this book.

Garfield is an animal at heart and in the wilds of suburbia he reverts to his primal self, stalking his prey with buttered bread in hand. Mustering all the skills at his disposal; cunning, resourcefulness and an active imagination, he transform into the night stalker, lurking in the shadows, invisible to his adversaries he seeks out his target and strikes!  Quite a few of my students are devouring these books about Garfield as they are added to the shelf. I have just finished reading this one and it is quite funny. The first few pages have a few little texta embellishment buy generally it's in okay condition. Enjoy!

Lucky Garfield by Jim Davis

New to the fun stuff shelves is this entertaining little book about Garfield. It's just perfect for a light-hearted read. So if you want a break from your challenging novel, why not pick this up and have a chuckle? The key to Garfield's personality is not that he is and old grouch and extremely slothful, but his determination to be as lazy as possible.  Whether he is face-planting into his food, or annoying Odie he will bring a smile to your face.

 

Life is Just a Bunch of Ziggys by Tom Wilson

Sometimes, after a bad day, this is the sort of little book you need to pick up. How could you not like little Ziggy. Ziggy is a cartoon created by Tom Wilson. Ziggy is a small, bald, bare-footed little man who seems to have no friends and no real hobbies. He does, however, have Fuzz, a small white dog, Sid, a cat who is afraid of mice, Josh, a fish...and Wack, a duck. An endless stream of misfortunes befall Ziggy and he often finds himself in some rather weird situations. If you enjoyed Snake, then this little book will most likely appeal to you. 

My Sisters' a Yo-yo by Gretel Killeen

This would have to be the most ridiculously silly book I have ever read but it is funny. Zeke and his sister Eppie are sitting in the car waiting for their mum. He is bored:

Then he got bored again, so he did a little fart, and then he imagined that all the air was gone from the car and he was dying of suffocation (this actually wasn't very hard), and then he stopped, and burped the alphabet. Then he breathed out deeply, rolled his eyes and checked under the car seats for jewelled boxes of hidden treasure, and that's when he found his favourite thing in the world. That's when he found his yo-yo.

Eppie his sister suddenly shrinks to the size of a strawberry and Zeke gets the yo-yo tangled up in her hair when he is being silly. And, basically the whole book is about the saga of Eppie being caught up in the yo-yo for the day at school. It is all about: a blind mum, escape, theft, brats, bullies, a fat school nurse, two goody-two-shoes, garbage trucks, magic lamps, scabs and snot. It is so far-fetched that you just have to laugh. Leigh Hobbs' illustrations as always are very comical and add greatly to the off-beat humour of author Gretel Killeen.

Snake Live!! and Snake Too by Sols

Snake is desperate for friends, he wants arms and legs but no-one takes him seriously. These cartoon books are very 1970's and 80s but many of the jokes are still very funny. They are in the Fun Stuff section of our classroom and can be read on Popular Literature Day, which is a Friday.  SOLS' real name is Allan Salisbury and he was born in Victoria, Australia. He is best known for his newspaper comic Snake Tales. His other creations include Lennie the Loser and Fingers and Foes.

Puppy Fat by Morris Gleitzman

This novel is set in London. The main character, 13 year-old Keith Shipley, introduced in Misery Guts and Worry Warts, is preoccupied with the fact that both of his recently-separated parents are letting their appearances go to such a point that they will not be able to attract new partners. Unbeknownst to either parent, Keith begins a campaign to find them both a suitable partner by placing advertisments in the local paper, and using his artistic abilities to promote them. Meanwhile, his best friend, Tracy who lives in Australia, and her Aunty Bev turn up for a visit. It's as far fetched as a story could, get but Gleitzman's endearing and eccentric characters more than make up for this. Keith's complete incompetence and increasingly grandiose and ridiculous schemes which are doomed to failure, will keep you turning the pages and bring a smile to your face. Why not listen to the author reading the first chapter of the book by clicking on the link below the cover:

http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/books/fst_pfat_audio.html

Adults Only by Morris Gleitzman

Jake lives on a remote island off the Australian coast with his parents. His best friend is Crusher, an antique stuffed bear. His parents run an "Adults Only" resort on the island and Jake spends his days surfing the internet, exploring the island and keeping a low profile. He does his school lessons via two-way radio. Life for Jake is rather lonely and he would just love to have a few friends, so he decides to invite some of the families of the students in his class. However, he accidentally includes a VIP magazine in his class mailing list and two journalis turn up to do a feature story about the island. Jakes finds himself trapped under the bed in their bedroom and can't believe what is going to happen next. Listen to Morris Gleitzman read the first chapter of the book by clicking on the link below the cover.

http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/books/fst_ao_audio.html

Unmentionable by Paul Jennings

Paul Jennings surely is the Australian master of the humorous short story. I picked this book up intending to read a couple of the stories and read the lot in one sitting. These stories will hook you in. There are nine stories in all: Ice Maiden, Birdman, Little Squirt, The Mouth Organ, The Velvet Throne, Cry Baby, Ex Poser, Sloppy Jalopy, and...Eyes Know. Birdman is my favourite story from this book. It is all about a birdman contest, for which the kids all make flying contraptions to see how far they can fly after jumping off the local pier. Sean isn't doing so well especially after his arch enemy steals his glider. But he finds a hat made from a cat on the beach. Now this cat is something of copy cat and when a person puts it on their head strange things can happen. Unmentionable will leave you thinking what a boring life you lead.

Dead Men Don't Walk by Max Dann

Dusting is on the hunt for buried treasure, and true to his passive aggressive nature, he has coerced his best friend Roger Thesaurus into helping him acquire it. And, now Millicent has found out about the whole venture, she wants her 30%. As it turns out there is none to be found at the Bailey's house and so Dusting believes they will find gold whilst on their school excursion, considering that he is psychic and all. Psychotic is probably a more apt description. They find a bag of money and then things take a turn for the worst. As always with Dusting and his friends, they make for an enjoyable and humorous read. I read anything by Dann that I can get my hands on.

Thelwell's Brat Race by Norman Thelwell

Bringing up children has never been easy and anyone who thinks it is obviously has never had children. Here is Norman Thelwell's tongue in cheek child-rearing manual, and it is a humorous read. His cartoons say it all. The chapters are:

The Little Stranger, What's in a Name?, The Little Mystics, Children's Pets, Toys and Presents, Children's Ward, How to give a Party, Things That Go Bump in the Night, and...How to Keep Them Happy. So if you are looking for some light reading just grab this book off the shelves on the Little Library of Rescued Books.

Sadly, this wonderful author, cartoonist, is no longer with us but he will live on through his publications. To find out more about this famous British cartoonist and his works, click on the link below to go straight to his website:

http://www.thelwell.org.uk/

Down Behind The Dustbin

Michael Rosen's poems are actually funny and my last year's class just loved him, especially his video clips performing his own poetry which are available on line. This little book was one of his first. He writes about every day objects and circumstances, about things that would happen in a home... like the one about the mum waiting for her son to put his shoes on and he can't find them, or the one about what dad feeds the kids when the mum is away. I always was a big fan of his Down by the dustbin poems.

Down by the dustbin

I met a dog called Jim.

He didn't know me

And I didn't know him.

Check out the clip below of Rosen reciting some of his dustbin poetry.

Undone! by Paul Jennings

This book, a multi award winner, is another collection of short stories from Jennings and they all have twists in their tails. There are eight stories in all. Here is a brief summary about each...

Batty: This story is set in the bush and its all about a boy who has been raised by bats.

Moonies: An illiterate boy moves to a new school, and after signing a contract he can't read, discovers that he has to moon the principal. Now, this is definitely something that someone in their right mind would never do.

Noseweed: A boy is staying with his grandad and is a bit over all the healthy food he has to eat there. One day the boy has to drink cod liver oil that has been mixed with museli and he just can't bring himself to swallow it. That is when a strange sprout appears from his nose.

Wake Up to Yourself: This story is about dreams and reality and there is a young lad who can't distinguish one from the other and all the problems that are associated with this.

Thought Full: Set on a farm this tale features a magic bottle. Now when you drink from this bottle it enables you to read other peoples' minds.

Clear as Mud:er Imagine becoming invisible when you are bitten by a bug. Well in this story magic, biting bug meets bully boy Eric Mud who is about to get much more than he bargained for.

What a Woman: Sally doesn't want to go to school, and you can't really blame her. You see, she is the only girl in the school. The boys are relentless in their bullying of her but one day something happens to turn her luck around...

You Be the Judge: If you eat someone, you are a cannibal. What are you then, if you drink someone? Is this even possible. This story is set in the desert and the main character is in a desperate situation.

There are three copies of this book in the Little Library of Rescued Books so you could read it along with a couple of friends.

Here is the covers from the other version of the book. This one overlays the one below.

Stick Out Your Tongue by Peter & Connie Roop

This joke book which contains riddles and some knock knocks is all to do with doctors, dentists and patients. There is a lot of play on words which will more likely elicit a smile than a belly laugh. If you like jokes you will most likely enjoy this little book which could be easily read in half an hour. The illustrations by Joan Hanson, one per two pages are gorgeous ink line works. Here are a few of them:

When is it polite to stick out your tongue?

At a doctor's office.

What should you do if your knee is cold?

Wear a knee cap.

Why did the window go to the doctor?

It had a pane.

Why did the king go to the dentist?

He needed a new crown.