I recently purchased two hilarious books to read to children. I discovered them on my prac from Uni last year. They were written in 1991 and they are hysterical! I am always so impressed when authors illustrate their own books! Such talent!
1.Beware of Girls by Tony Blundell This is a hilarious book about a wolf that decides he is so hungry he is going to go straight to a little girl’s cottage and tell her he is her grandmother! The little girl happens to be extremely clever and sends the wolf off to fulfill different tasks in order for her to believe he truly is her grandmother. Her dog thinks she is unaware that he is a wolf and there are hilarious little asides from the dog as he tries desperately to warn her of the danger she is in! The tasks are cleverly crafted ideas that weave a web to the final punch line! I have read the story to Kindergarten children and they love the way the wolf is sent off and keeps returning in a worsened state each time! I then read the story to a group of Year 3 students and they loved all the hilarious planning on the part of the girl. Some of the children started to twig as they thought about the girl’s plan. They started nodding their heads and saying, “Oh, I know what she is doing!”.
As the wolf tires he starts to become very muddled. The girl tells him ‘if he really is her grandmother he would be wearing bright red heeled shoes,bringing a bag of sticky toffee and making a great big chocolate cake!’ The wolf returns very distressed and says, “Hello, little girl, I am your grandma in her big sticky dress and her bright-red hat and her pretty chocolate shoes, with a bag of feathery toffees and a great big high-heeled cake for you tea!!!!!!!!!!”
I had a class of Year one’s and they decided to draw their favourite part of the story. Most of the children drew pictures of the last scene!!!
(The Book Depository $9)
Image from http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_home_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100
I thought I would add the student’s wonderful art to this blog!
(The Book Depository $10)
2. Beware of Boys is equally funny with the Wolf being outsmarted again by a clever and witty boy! The boy is actually captured by the Wolf but he uses hilarious delay tactics to avoid being eaten! The children beg me to read these two stories as they truly are ingenious. I have found I can read them to children up to Year 4 as there are so many nuances through the story and the older the child the more they see the web the boy and girl weave around the gullible wolf! The boy thinks of different recipes for the Wolf to make Boy Pie, Boy Cake and Boy soup! The ingredients are difficult to find and yet again the Wolf is sent off to bring the ingredients back for this famous recipe, with disastrous results for the Wolf! Recipe for Boy Pie: One boy, not too skinny, One large dish, Three foothills of plain flour, One moo-cow of milk, One large lump of lard, Six sacks of cement……!
3. I definitely must buy this soon as the other two are a riot!
(The Book Depository $7)
4. The Pig’s Knickers by Johnathon Emmett and Vanessa Cabban. What a hilarious story! I was relieving for a teacher librarian and I had a Kindergarten group come for a story on the mat. One of the children asked me to read the book, so I did! The story is of a pig who feels he is anything but special and a tad boring, the wind blows through and a pair of polka dotted knickers lands on his head. The pig decides he loves them so much he wears them around the barnyard. The pig seeks approval from the barnyard animals and hopes that by wearing the knickers and performing tricks the animals will view him in a more interesting light. A calamity befalls the knickers and Pig is left with the feeling he is his old boring self yet again! The animals go to great pains to assure him he is special. The last page is a big surprise ! The boys covered their mouths and said, “Oooh Ahh!” You will have to read it yourself!!
Image from http://www.walker.co.uk
I am off to my bookshelf to hunt out some more funny authors and stories!
(The Book Depository ($9)
5. The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas by Tony Wilson and Sue deGennaro
The Book Depository ($16)
Another funny tale, well, a fractured fairy tale! Boys love this book as the story is definitely written from their point of view! The Prince so wants to fall in love and get married but he is an outdoorsy kind of guy and he is hoping to find a Princess who loves camping and the outdoors! But as the trail of prospective young girls fail to meet his alternative desires, he begins to wonder if there is anyone special for him! But one evening…….
The illustrations are clever child like drawings and I have found children warm to them. The girls struggle a little with the text, especially if they are a little precious themselves! I have noticed that the story line is quite an eye opener for girls and gives them lots to think about!!
6. Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Fly and Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss
June 5 Today we made macaroni necklaces in art class. I brought mine home and we ate it for dinner!
Diary of a Fly
June 10 Things they should teach you in flight class: always have a flight plan!
Diary of a Spider
April 1 Went to the park with my sister today. We tried the seesaw. It didn’t work!
Outstanding stories with the most amazing illustrations! I worked with a Year 2 class who wrote their own little diaries of their pet class worms! The diary style writing is hilarious and each book refers to the the other characters in the story! The humor is delightful from the perspective of the worm, the fly and the spider!
(The Book Depository $15 approx)
Have fun!
Tags: animals stories, book depository, books, child drawings
Teachers Quiver Full 