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A man and his three children leave the “Little Mother” at home in the city and set up temporary housekeeping in a country cottage to supervise the remodeling of the house he has just purchased there. The story is narrated by the father. His interactions with his children, interspersed with his own recollections of past events, make for hilarious reading. This is Jerome at his best, IMHO, although this is apparently one of this lesser known novels. (Summary by Debra Lynn)...

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Humor

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Part I. The Story of Rollo; Mr. Holliday knows all there is to know about raising children, or at least he thinks he does. His attempts to train his son, Rollo, in the way he should go, are well-meant, but hilariously unsuccessful--or are they? I believe this is a sort of spoof of the “Rollo” series for children, that was written by Jacob Abbot in the mid 19th century. The characters have the same names and the chapters have a little Q&A at the end like the Abbot books, except these are definitely tongue-in-cheek. These Rollo stories use humor (and a bit of pathos) to teach plain home truths to parents, rather than children. Part II. Stories and Sketches; It is difficult to give this part a better description than the title implies. It is an assortment of short works. Some are humorous, some thought-provoking, some have a bit of both, and some are, I think, just a tad demented (but in a good way.) (Introduction by Debra Lynn)...

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Humor

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The curious Case of Benjamin Button, a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, now a major motion picture, features Benjamin Button, who, born as an old man much to the dismay and chagrin of his father and family Doctor, ages backwards until he leaves this world as a newborn. (Summary by Mike Vendetti)...

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Humor

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Uncle Remus tells these 11 stories but to the son of the original little boy who is visiting his grandmother on the plantation. As always Uncle Remus can be relied upon to provide funny and pointed insight into human personalities through his story telling. These were all published in the Uncle Remus magazine from 1905 and 1906 and gathered together in this book by the author. (Summary by Phil Chenevert)...

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Children, Humor

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The story tells the burlesque adventures of Tartarin, a local hero of Tarascon, a small town in southern France, whose invented adventures and reputation as a swashbuckler finally force him to travel to a very prosaic Algiers in search of lions. (Summary by Wikipedia, modified by Nadine)...

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Children, Humor, Teen/Young adult

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The town of Hadleyburg had the reputation of being the most honest town in a wide area, indeed an incorruptible community. The elders took this reputation so to heart that they brought up their children shielded from all temptation and trained thoroughly in total honesty. However, a stranger passing through the community was seriously offended by the actions of residents of this Utopia, and he vowed to gain revenge. After several years he came up with the perfect plan to embarrass the town and expose its hypocrisy. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)...

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Humor, Short stories

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In this hilarious novel, Harry Burton, a bachelor white-goods salesman, goes to take care of his sister Helen's two little boys for ten days while she and her husband are out of town. Helen says, The children won't give you the slightest trouble; they're the best children in the world! but, as you can imagine, Toddie and Budge are always up to something, and all sorts of comic mischief ensues. It just so happens that there's a lovely young lady in the neighborhood whom Harry admires very much, but she always seems to be passing by when he's deep in some terrible mess of the boys' making... (Summary by Kara)...

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Humor, Teen/Young adult, Romance, Fiction

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Neben berühmten Erzählungen wie Max und Moritz - Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen von Wilhelm Busch und zwei der weniger bekannten Texten von Heinrich Hoffmann (Autor von Struwwelpeter) enthält diese Sammlung insgesamt 20 kurze Erzählungen, Gedichte und Märchen für Kinder. (Zusammenfassung von Elli)...

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Children, Humor, Teen/Young adult, Fiction, Fairy tales

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In one of his later novels, the master storyteller spins a tale of two children switched at infancy. A slave takes on the identity of master and heir while the rightful heir is condemned to live the life of a slave. Twain uses this vehicle to explore themes of nature vs. nurture, racial bigotry and moral relativism. The case of mistaken identity is a theme that Twain explored also in THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER; in THE TRAGEDY OF PUDD'NHEAD WILSON he turns the theme into a well-crafted detective story. It is unfortunate that this is one of Twain's lesser known works as it is one of his most enjoyable reads....

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Mystery, Humor, Satire

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The Sunny Side is a collection of short stories and essays by A. A. Milne. Though Milne is best known for his classic children's books, especially Winnie The Pooh, he also wrote extensively for adults, most notably in Punch, to which he was a contributor and later Assistant Editor. The Sunny Side collects his columns for Punch, which include poems, essays and short stories, from 1912 to 1920. Wry, often satirical and always amusingly written, these pieces poke fun at topics from writing plays to lying about birdwatching. They vary greatly in length so there is something for everyone. (Summary by wikipedia and Phil Chenevert)...

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Humor

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A Tale of Youth and Summer Time and the Baxter Family Especially William

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Fiction, Humor

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Sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, and sometimes slyly satirical, Sam's work centers around themes of renewal, social responsibility, understanding of history, and the wonders of daily life....

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If poets laughed dishonestly As people laugh and talk in crowds, If writers wept for private loss And never said a word aloud – In short if they felt as we feel (And who denies their human lives?) Then we can never really know Except for fictions left behind What makes a mind as bright as brass And our life seem as clear as glass. -- From "Little Known Facts"...

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Uncle Remus, that genial old storyteller, knows how to spin these wonderful tales about the 'criteers' that the little 6 year old boy (and many of us adults!) love to listen to. Yet the 'Brer Rabbit and 'Brer Fox and the others sound a lot like the people all around us. They tell stories about personalities and faults and virtues in a way that is unique to Uncle Remus. As the shadows grow longer outside, draw up a rocking chair next to the little boy, settle back and listen to the wise old man tell these stories. These 17 stories were specially chosen from Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings and include The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story, Miss Cow falls a Victim to Mr. Rabbit; Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs; Mr. Rabbit grossly deceives Mr. Fox and lots of others. (Summary by phil chenevert)...

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Children, Humor, Philosophy

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This work the author claims is indeed a true story of how he happened to be married seven times to seven different women and the rollicking, hilarious events that led (or stumbled) to the marriages and the ah--disassembling/failing/failures of each said marriage which happened oftentimes to land him in prison. The summarist finds the work a very tongue-in-cheek diatribe/lament/account of his obsessive zeal in 'marrying the right one', but is also the mirthful chronicle of said author's very unconventional adventures. (Summary by Kehinde)...

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Humor, Memoirs

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This short novel of Twain’s, from 1903, is told from the point of view of a loyal and beloved family pet. Themes of heroics, valor and heart-wrenching tenderness fill this work. The story is also filled with happy events as well as sad ones and is ultimately about what dogs are to us … best friends. A Dog’s Tale is quintessentially Twain. (Summary by Aaron Elliott)...

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Humor, Animals

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Trollope returns in Is He Popenjoy to two of his favorite subjects: property and inheritance. As in Doctor Thorne, the issues are complicated by the specter of possible illegitimacy. Lord George Germain, a thoroughly respectable, upstanding, if not particularly bright younger son with new wife, rather expects to inherit a title, since his vicious and dissolute elder brother, the Marquis of Brotherton, who lives in Italy, shows no signs of settling down and producing heirs. Then comes a thunderbolt in the form of a letter from the Marquis suddenly claiming that he has, late in life, married an Italian widow and sired a son. This little boy, if he is indeed legitimate, is Lord Popenjoy and the heir to the marquisate. But is he legitimate? Are his parents in fact properly united in holy wedlock? And were they so at the time of his birth on alien soil? How on earth to find out? The book, which starts almost as a comedy of manners (and perhaps also a comedy of manors), takes on a darker and more sardonic tone with this mystery, and with some other suspected and actual romantic entanglements which are not entirely in the aristocratic Vict...

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Fiction, Humor

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volunteers bring you 12 recordings of A New Arrival by George W. Cable. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for May 17th, 2010. The New Arrival is a valuable poem because it expresses the joy of a young father over his new baby. If girls should be educated to be good mothers, so should boys be taught that fatherhood is the highest and holiest joy and right of man. The child is educator to the man. He teaches him how to take responsibility, how to give unbiased judgments, and how to be fatherly like Our Father who is in Heaven. (1844-.) (introduction to 'A New Arrival' from Poems Every Child Should Know by Mary E. Burt ed.)...

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Children, Humor, Poetry

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A selection of nonsense poems, songs (not sung!), stories, and miscellaneous strangeness. The work includes the Owl and the Pussycat and a recipe for Amblongus Pie, which begins Take 4 pounds (say 4½ pounds) of fresh ablongusses and put them in a small pipkin. Edward Lear was an English writer, poet, cat-lover, and illustrator (his watercolours are beautiful). This recording celebrates the 200th anniversary of Lear's birth. (Summary by Adrian Praetzellis)...

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Children, Humor

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Morton Carlton, an easy-going, rich young artist, has never taken the concepts of love and marriage all that seriously -- until by accident a copy of an English illustrated paper falls into his hands, which contains a photograph of the young Princess Aline of Hohenwald. Instantly, Carlton is captivated by the princess, and decides that he must meet her. But how to get close to a princess, who lives in a small German duchy well protected by guards and etiquette? Carlton decides to travel to Europe and try his luck... (Summary by Carolin)...

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Fiction, Humor, Romance

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A collection of silly poetry and limericks for children.

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Children, Humor, Poetry, Animals