I’ve been especially grateful for things that make me laugh this week, when temperatures have been soaring well into the 90’s and my patience with the heat has worn paper-thin. Thinking some of you may be feeling the same way, I’ve pulled together five funny things for you — all of them book-related, of course.
Laugh number 1 is a onesie. A ROCKIN’ onesie (and/or baby-sized t shirt) with a reading theme! Here, the logo for hard rock band ACDC and song title/tag line  “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” are reinvented as “ABCD” and “For Those About to Read We Salute You.” I love it. Credit for this find goes to my Wellesley Booksmith coworker Pete Sampson, who spotted one of these beauties on a friend’s baby (thank you, Facebook) and called it to my attention. I then went online to find the source and discovered several. If you know a li’l rocker who needs one of these, you can order from MyRetroBaby or Rock’n Sprouts or Punky Lunky.
Laugh number 2 for today is a forthcoming book: The Taking Tree: A Selfish Parody written by Shrill Travesty (hmm… can’t help wondering who this REALLY is…) and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. Coming in October 2010 from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing (though it’s arguably NOT for children), this is a WILDLY funny parody of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Regardless of how you feel about the original, you will laugh at the escalating tensions between the tree and boy in this book and cheer for the tree’s periodic (and minor) victories. This is one that adults will most definitely be buying for one another this fall. Expect to see this one displayed next to many a cash register!
Laugh number 3 has a great deal in common with laugh number 2. It, too, looks like a book for kids but isn’t. It, too, is guaranteed to get laughs from grown-ups. But this one you don’t have to wait to purchase. All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John was published in June by Chronicle Books. I must’ve brought about 6 or 7 different people over to Chronicle’s booth at BEA, just to have the pleasure of watching them read this outrageously funny (albeit slightly twisted) gem.
Laugh number 4 is another discovery from BEA: two new plush toys from MerryMakers (click to view them larger). I don’t know about you, but I love the idea of kids cozying up at night with either their plush Fly Guy (forthcoming!) or Chicken Butt! Doll (squeeze him and, yes, he says, “Chicken Butt!”). Kinda puts the old teddy bear routine to shame.
And finally, laugh number 5 is a video. A funny, funny video in which a very entertaining girl divines the thoughts (and voices) of the kittens featured in a non-fiction book called (you guessed it) Kittens. For some reason I’m unable to embed the video here, but you can get to it by following this handy link: \”kittens inspired by kittens\” on YouTube.
Here’s wishing you a weekend filled with laughs a’plenty, and a working air conditioner too!