Guys Read: Funny Business (review)

Having introduced his web-centered Guys Read initiative in 2005 with Guys Write for Guys Read (BCCB 6/05), Sciezska now offers Volume One of the "Guys Read" library, a set of short stories themed around, not surprisingly for Scieszka, humor. There are multiple classes of boy funny here. For instance, there are the kind of folksy stories your grandfather tells about his glorious exploits in pranking the gullible (Christopher Paul Curtis), and creative sibling dodges for getting out of really bad scrapes (Eoin Colfer). Also appearing are school assignments that take on a life of their own (Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka), the kind of situations that arise from being stupid and having stupider friends (Jack Gantos, David Lubar, Mac Barnett), and a number of instances where aliens, zombies, murderous turkeys, and supervillains are outwitted by your average ten-year-old with his wits about him (Adam Rex, David Yoo, and Paul Feig). None of the stories turn on overly clever rhetorical finesse, cheap shots, or silly slapstick for their chuckles (although some are rather gross and oozy), instead developing their situations into conclusions that range from wryly ironic to slightly dark, indicating a respect for the reader's ability to appreciate subtlety. The stories are also classroom-friendly, providing sound, entertaining models for the humorous short-story form; mostly, though, they'll offer compact literary pleasures for kids who follow the included authors and who like a good snicker. Jeff Kinney's story will be included in the bound volume.