Corner Books: New novels that should spark laughter in kids

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Kids often want to read a book that will make them laugh. They're not just looking for joke books; instead, they usually want a humorous novel.
Anything by Daniel Pinkwater is a good choice, as are many books by Dick King-Smith and Beverly Cleary.
Now, here's a trio of new novels that should spark laughter in young readers:
-- When the Puddles had a baby girl more than eight years ago, they couldn't agree on her name. Mr. Puddle wanted to call her Emily, while Mrs. Puddle insisted on Ferdinanda. So they agreed to disagree, each calling her by their preferred name. Everyone else just calls her Baby.
Ever since then, Baby's life, and that of her brother Tom, has been very complicated. Because their parents can't agree about anything, Baby and Tom get twice as many presents for their birthdays. And when their parents couldn't agree on what kind of dog to get, they got two dogs, a Great Dane and a chihuahua -- both named Sally.
As author Kate Feiffer details in her zany new novel, "The Problem With the Puddles" (Simon & Schuster, $16.99), "a cloud hovers over the Puddles." It's not easy for Baby and Tom when their parents can't even agree on what to eat. Things get even more complicated when the family heads home from its vacation house and accidentally forgets to take the Sallys. As the Sallys try to figure out their own way home, their human family gets bogged down partway there because of car trouble.
Of course, the story ends happily. But there are lots of comedic adventures along the way to keep young readers laughing. Feiffer's decision to tell the stories from two points of view -- human and canine -- adds greatly to the fun, as do the numerous comic illustrations by Tricia Tusa. Let's hope that Feiffer plans to tell more stories about this wacky family. (Ages 8-12.)
-- Fans of Katy Kelly's "Lucy Rose" series have a new reason to cheer, as Kelly focuses her latest book, "Melonhead" (Delacorte, $12.99) on one of Lucy Rose's best friends. His real name is Adam Melon, but he prefers being called Melonhead, and he's the only child of a worrywart mother and overworked father.
Ten-year-old Melonhead doesn't try to get into trouble -- it just seems to follow him. In the book's opening chapter, for example, Melonhead and his best friend, Sam, decide it would be fun to climb on a roof and scare people by calling out things like "We're watching you."
Things go awry, however, when Melonhead's foot becomes wedged into a hole in the trunk of a tree as he climbed up to the roof. His foot is so firmly stuck that Melonhead ends up spending several hours in the tree before he is rescued by firefighters.
Things like that are always happening to Melonhead. His mom is pleased when his essay wins "Homework of the Week" honors until she discovers it's about the time he had head lice. Later in the book, Melonhead faces a new challenge when a snake he has secretly brought into his house escapes. Given that his mother is terrified of mice, Melonhead knows he must find Cobra before his mom does.
But the biggest problem facing Melonhead and Sam is creating a project that will win a science contest centered on recycling objects into new inventions. Nothing the two boys comes up with seems to work, but their failures eventually inspire them to develop a unique invention.
Kelly's book, set in Washington's Capitol Hill neighborhood, is packed with comedy and everyday adventure that will particularly tickle boys, although girls also will love this book. Kelly's breezy writing style works just right, while the illustrations by Gillian Johnson capture Melonhead's energy and charm. (Ages 8-12.)
-- Called "the French Dennis the Menace," Nicholas is a boy who lives in a small town in France and just can't stay out of trouble. Now there's a fifth (and, alas, final) volume of his adventures available in English, "Nicholas In Trouble" (Phaidon, $19.95).
Written by Rene Goscinny (who also wrote the "Asterix" comic books) and illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempe, the "Nicholas" books are laugh-out-loud funny, and this latest volume is no exception. Like the others in the series, this book is divided into short chapters that make great family read-alouds, as the humor in these books will appeal to both kids and adults. Other books about Nicholas include "Nicholas," "Nicholas Again," "Nicholas On Vacation" and "Nicholas and the Gang." (Ages 8-12.)

(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)
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