The Hermit Crab by Carter Goodrich

PreK-2. The humorous story of an unlikely hero! The hermit crab was very shy. He was so shy that he would retreat into his shell if someone so much as said "Hello" to him. One day the creatures at the bottom of the sea are startled by a large, wooden contraption that smells of food and has landed on the ocean floor. Unfortunately, it has also landed on top of the flounder. The hermit crab missed the commotion because he had found a fancy new shell and was trying on his new home for size (actually half of an action figure). When the hermit crab happens upon the wooden crate he attempts to locate the food and the other fish mistakenly believe a hero has come to save the flounder as all they can see from their vantage point is the action figure.

A funny story that is sure to please a crowd or an independent reader!

Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace

PreK-2. Little Oink is very different from other pigs. He hates messes! He's a neat pig and just wishes he could be like his friends and clean his room instead of mess it up the way his parents insist that he do. Reminicent of Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat and illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey, kids will enjoy reading this story about one very unpiglike pig!

This would make a good storytime selection, especially when paired with Gregory. This book could be used in many ways as the pictures offer a lot in the way of discussion and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser on account of its humor!

Love that Puppy! by Jeff Jarka

PreK-2. Peter was an ordinary boy until he decided to become a dog. Peter does all of the things that dogs do such as sleep in a doghouse, beg, play fetch, bark, chase cars, terrorize the mailman, and eat homework. Finally, his parents are so fed up with Peter's behavior they ask him to stop being a dog. Peter goes back to being a boy... that is until he decides to be another animal!

Big, bright cartoon-like pictures depict this laugh-out-loud funny story perfectly. This would make for a fun storytime read or an appealing independent read!

Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile

PreK-2. Frankie and Sal have done it all. They've painted, read, baked, played sports, played board games, in short, they've done everything. So what's next? NOTHING! The boys challenge each other to do nothing for 10 whole seconds! First, they try to be statues. Then, they try to be giant redwood trees. Next, they try to be the Empire State Building. Everytime they try to do nothing, their imaginations get the better of them and the boys stumble upon a great discovery: there is no such thing as doing nothing!

This laugh-out-loud funny book will thrill kids, especially those who can read on their own because this author does a very good job of tapping into the ways kids think, act, talk and, most importantly, imagine. In addition to the text, kids will really respond to the illustrations. This is the authors 1st picture book, but Fucile has spent more than 20 years animating cartoon characters and this is apparent in the way he lays out the book and illustrates the two boys. I highly recommend this title!

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems

PreK-2. Pigeon learns to share when a curious duckling interupts him with questions while he is trying to eat a delicious hot dog. A funny story told in simple illustrations and a great storytime read! Willems seems to understand kids' humor as only few authors do and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! is another gem in a long line of modern classics!

Ms. Hannah is Bananas! by Dan Gutman, illustrated by Jim Paillot

Gr. 1-3. Ms. Hannah, the art teacher, is completely bananas, at least in A.J.'s opinion, that is! She wears a dress made of recycled pot holders and she doesn't believe in garbage. She thinks every last piece of trash can be recycled to become beautiful art and she proves this when she adds A.J.'s tissue to her ball of paint-speckled newspaper! Throughout the story, A.J. struggles with his negative feelings toward art and a few of his fellow classmates, but in the end he finds a unique way of combining kinetic and performance art with friendship to create an unforgetable sculpture! A humorous, short chapter book with illustrations, kids are sure to become fast fans of the My Weird School series and all its crazy teachers!

Such a Silly Baby! by Steffanie and Richard Lorig, illustrated by Amanda Shepard

PreK-2. Baby gets switched with different animals at different places in this funny, rhyming, cumulative story! This would work well to share with an audience of two year old and up. It's a bit long for the baby crowd. Vibrant artwork helps illustrate Baby's escapades and add humor to an already funny text!

Franny K. Stein Mad Scientist: Lunch Walks Among Us by Jim Benton

Franny K. Stein isn't your average little girl. Whereas most little girls like unicorns and playing with their dolls, Franny prefers bats and spiders and bubbling bakers and steaming test tubes. Needless to say, Franny isn't very popular with her classmates when she starts a new school. Most of her classmates fear her. All Franny wants is to fit in.

Miss Shelly, Franny's teacher, suggests that Franny study what the other kids like, kind of like an experiment, so that she can fit in a little better. Franny does her homework and ends up conforming quite well except that she abandons everything that made her Franny.

One day, a Giant Monstrous Fiend emerges from the trashcan composed of old gum, gym shoes, trash. and unstable industrial waste! The worst part is that the monster takes Miss Shelly and heads for the flagpole! Franny to the rescue! She quickly sews together all the lunchmeat from everyone's sandwiches and combines this with some leftover unstable industrial waste resulting in the creation of a Lunch-Meat Creature. The Giant Monstrous Fiend drops Miss Shelly on a stack of white bread slices that Franny assmebled for just such a situation, while the Lunch-Meat Creature pulls the flagpole from the ground and winds up to bat the Giant Monstrous Fiend into the next century! After saving the day, the kids all love Franny just the way she is and she finally feels accepted. Second graders and up will enjoy this series that features illustrations on each page.

Genre: Fantasy


Benton, J. (2003). Franny K. Stein mad scientist: Lunch walks among us. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

The beginning of a series in which the narrator constantly warns the reader that all will not end well for the Baudelaire orphans: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. When their parents die suddenly in a car crash Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are sent to live with a distant cousin named Count Olaf. The children soon find that Count Olaf is after their money and their lives! Each child is possesses their own unique talents: Violet is a clever inventor, Klaus loves to read, and Sunny like to bite things. Armed with these talents the three siblings aim to outwit Count Olaf who has plans to marry Violet during a play put on by his theater company.

This fresh series features a narrator who often breaks through the story to directly address the reader and warn of impending doom or explain complex vocabulary words. Sixth graders and up will enjoy this series which promises an uncharacteristic unhappy ending from the very beginning!

I highly recommend the audio version of this tale read by actor Tim Curry!

Genre: Gothic Fiction

Snicket, L. (1999). The bad beginning. New York: HaperCollins Publishers.

Babymouse: Puppy Love by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Babymouse is exactly that: a baby girl mouse. She wants one thing: a pet. She tries her pet parenting skills out on a fish, hamster, salamander, turtle, hermit crab, sea monkeys, ferret, and venus fly trap, but ends up losing all of them. With not so much as one success in terms of pet parenting Babymouse's parents are hesistant to let her care for a stray dog, but she proves to be an excellent dog owner in that she walks, bathes, and trains Buddy only to have to hand the dog over to its rightful owner at novel's end. A humorous graphic story told in comic book panel format with black and white illustrations highlighted with pink young boys and girls alike will laugh out loud as Babymouse learns what it takes to be a pet owner.

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Fantasy

Holm, J.L. & Holm, M. (2007). Babymouse: Puppy love. New York: Random House.

Judy Moody: Was in Mood. No a Good Mood. A Bad Mood by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter Reynolds

Judy Moody is a third grader with an attitude. Set with the task to build a ME collage Judy catalogs her school experiences by the categories she needs to fulfill for her poster such as: secret clubs, favorite pet, the worst thing ever and the funniest thing ever. She has a younger brother named Stink, a best friend named Rocky and a new, unlikely friend in Frank Pearl. A smart girl, Judy aspires to be a doctor when she grows up and she even sends away for a doll to practice her healing skills on, but when Stink causes Hedda-Get-Betta's head to get stuck on its chicken pox face she uses her quick thinking and her stash of "fancy" Band-Aids to cure her patient like she believes her idol, Elizabeth Blackwell, First Woman Doctor, would've done in a similar situation. A humorous story with lots of imagination third grade readers and up will appreciate Judy's attitude and imaginative mind that allows her to travel to China as well as find "moon" rocks.

Genre: Realisitic Fiction

McDonald, M. (2000). Judy Moody. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton

Geronimo Stilton is editor of The Rodent's Gazette in New Mouse City. He wants nothing more than to lead a quiet life at home, but his sister, Thea, convinces him to accompany her on a mission to find lost treasure! Geronimo, Thea, Trap, their cousin, and Benjamin, Geronimo's favorite nephew, all hop aboard a ship in search of the Emerald Eye where they expect to find treasure. What follows is a humorous account of the many adventures the unlikely crew find themselves mixed up in at sea. From "fresh" clams to falling overboard to a hurricane to quicksand and finally land ho! young readers will enjoy the fast pace and short chapters filled with colorful graphics and illustrations.

Genre: Fantasy

Stilton, G. (2004). Lost treasure of the emerald eye. New York: Scholastic.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley narrates/illustrates his middle grade school year month by month. His discusses his brothers, Rodrick (older) and Manny (younger) and his friend Rowley who seems to be even more unpopular than Greg is (at least in Greg's way of thinking). His numerous adventures include building a Haunted House with Rowley, his run in with high schoolers on Halloween, joining the safety patrol, wrestling, building muscle with his homemade gym, playing a tree in the school musical The Wizard of Oz, playing with the Big Wheel Rowley got him for Christmas, building the world's biggest snowman, writing comics for the school paper, fighting Rowley, and of course The Cheese.

Boys will love this book! Girls will also find it enjoyable as it shows a through development of character. Kids love these diary/journal/memoir books and this one is funny and really makes the reader think as it doesn't always protray Greg as the nicest guy.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid: Greg Heffley's journal. New York: Amulet Books.

Little Red: A Fizzingly Good Yarn retold by Lynn Roberts, illustrated by David Roberts

In this twist on the Little Red Riding Hood Story, Little Red is a boy growing up during the late 18th century in America. This version offers a lighter ending in which the boy tricks the wolf into consuming a jug of ginger ale which ultimately results in a belch so ferocious it expels Granny from the confines of the wolf's belly. The illustrations for this picture book accurately depict 18th century clothing and furniture and give this retelling much of its charm.

Genre: Picture book/Folktale/Fairy Tale

Roberts, L. (2005). Little red: A fizzingly good yarn. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mutant Mosquitos from Mercury by Dav Pilkey illustrated by Martin Ontiveros

Ricky Ricotta is a mouse with a robot for a best friend. This book focuses on their battle with Mr. Mosquito who wants to take over Earth because he's tired of the changing weather conditions on Mercury. Mr. Mosquito makes an army (out of his nail clippings, gross!) and invade Earth. Ricky's robot defeats the mutant mosquitoes, but Mr. Mosquito takes Ricky hostage and morphs his spaceship into a giant mosquito robot to battle Ricky's robot. Ricky's robot refuses to fight knowing Ricky's inside, but Ricky devises an escape plan and begs Mr. Mosquito to let him use the restroom. While in the bathroom, Ricky sneaks out the window and jumps into his robot's large hand. With Ricky safe, his robot fights Mr. Mosquito's robot and saves the world!

Featuring Flip-O-Rama, a mini math lesson, and real facts about Mercury, many boys who are fans of Pilkey's Captain Underpants series will also enjoy Ricky Ricotta.

Genre: Fantasy

Pilkey, D. (2000). Ricky Ricotta's mighty robot vs. the mutant mosquitos from Mercury: The second robot adventure novel. New York: Scholastic.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

Best friends George and Harold create the greatest superhero of all time : Captain Underpants! The school troublemakers pull out their best pranks at the big football game and are caught on videotape by their principal, mean old Mr. Krupp. Mr. Krupp threatens to release the videotape of their hijinks to the football team if they don't follow a strict list of demands. Fearing the wrath of the football team for costing them the big game they comply and behave like perfect angels for weeks upon miserable weeks.

Fed up with being good boys, the friends devise a plan to hypnotize Mr. Krupp into handing over the videotape by using a gimmicky 3-D Hypno-Ring. The plan works and the boys switch the incriminating tape with Harold's little sister's "Boomer the Purple Dragon Sing-A-Long" tape. The boys play around making Mr. Krupp act like a monkey and a chicken and finally Captain Underpants!

Harold and George really have their hands full following Captain Underpants around on his mission to search out and fight crime. Captain Underpants meets his match in Dr. Diaper, the little criminal whose robots steal a crystal to power the Lasermatic 2000 which was created to blow up the moon sending huge chunks of it crashing to the Earth's surface enabling Dr. Diaper to rise up from the mess and take over. To make a long story short, Captain Underpants prevails with the help of Harold and George, aka the Robot bashers, and they get away delivering evil Dr. Diaper to the police on their way back to school.

Back at school, Harold and George attempt to undo their hypnosis, but because they can't find the directions they struggle to bring back mean old Mr. Krupp. Finally, they pour water over his head which seems to do the trick, but if they had read the directions they would've noticed that pouring water over someone in a trance will only cause them to slip back and forth between trance and reality whenever they hear the sound of finger snapping!

This book primarily appeals to 4th grade and older boys, but can also be enjoyable for girls as well. Each page contains illustrations and perhaps the best feature is Flip-O-Rama the unique illustration technique that allows kids to animate the action by flipping quickly back and forth between two pages.

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Fantasy

Pilkey, D. (1997). The adventures of Captain Underpants: an epic novel. New York: Blue Sky Press.