World's Best (and Worst) Monster Jokes by Jessica Rusick
Published by Lerner Publications ISBN: 1541576985
Genres: Humor
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
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This title is part of the 10-title series “Laugh your socks off” from Lerner. Purchasing the entire series would be an expensive way to add joke books. This reviewer would love to see some of the big library-market publishers like Lerner publish a complete joke book that includes all 10 titles and for a lower cost; most kids who enjoy joke books don’t require that they be contained to one topic. The binding is strong and the layout is colorful and appealing with a mix of photographs and illustrations. Most major monsters are covered. A few of the jokes could be better written (“where do aliens stay when they visit Earth? At alie-inns” could’ve been “where do Martians or extra-terrestrials stay…” for a better set-up), but there are also some genuine laugh-out-loud gems (“what’s the first thing the werewolf ate after he had his teeth cleaned? The dentist”. This book would circulate better in an elementary school library though its price point and limited topic make is a non-essential purchase.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth