Ed Dykhuizen
BOOKSHELF
Crack up the kids
Children’s books can be wonderful tools for teaching all sorts of important lessons — or they can just be funny. Here are a few that will send your little ones (and maybe even you!) into hysterics.
Underwear will always be hilarious to kids — sometimes you just have to lean into it. The little furry guy in this book expresses his strong feelings about undergarments in clever rhymes that make liberal use of words like “tush” and “buns.” It’s innocent and silly enough to avoid being all-out naughty. Ages 3–5 • $16.99
The joke book is a rite of passage for most kids. So why not make it a large, beautifully illustrated one? Wee Society’s contribution to the genre (measuring a whopping 11-by-15 inches) includes not only pun-filled gags — “What’s a cat’s favorite color? Purrrr-ple.” — but also a primer on joke-telling techniques, plus pages for registering people’s reactions. Ages 5–9 • $22
As with superstar kid-lit characters like Olivia and the Pigeon (you know, the one who shouldn’t drive the bus), Max’s charm comes from writing that keenly observes the funny ways real children think and behave. Parents and littles will both laugh with recognition at Max’s (terrible, but confidently stated) pointers on how to use your puppy-dog eyes to get cookies, how to fake an injury to avoid going to the store and more. Ages 4–8 • $16.99
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March 2019 • mnparent.com