The Laugh Stand: Adventures in Humor

by Brian P. Cleary

Chuckles abound in a title that includes pangrams, anagrams, and even word diagrams as well as explains various types of jokes, including a Tom Swiftie, a daffynition, and others.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2007

Reviews

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text: 5 stars
Illustrations: 4 stars

Lots of fun word play. Includes a variety of entertaining literary games, puzzles, and jokes. The different types ensure there is something for everyone to enjoy. Humorous and engaging. And I always appreciate Brian Cleary's encouragement to children to follow his example and try writing themselves. Cartoonish illustrations add to the comic appeal of the book and provide strong visual support for the text.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The English language is cool! Basically Cleary breaks down the English language with fun skits about playing with words and language while still teaching a bit about it (like the definitions of parts of a sentence, what an anagram is, what a homophone is) with brightly-colored pictures, goofy introductions, and an easy to read style.

It's as much fun for an upper-elementary and middle grade kid as any ELL where teachers could incorporate some of the exercises to have students come up with their own.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian P. Cleary is the author of the best-selling series Words are Categorical. His books are always full of humor as well as important information. The Laugh Stand is no exception. You are guaranteed to laugh out loud as you read examples of numerous types of jokes and humorous verse. J.P. Sandy's hilarious illustrations are a perfect match for Cleary's wit. If you need a quick mood-lifter grab this book and read a few pages.