Funny side up
I like all things light-hearted and funny. Books, movies, company et-cetera. In movies I can endure endless masala and dance numbers. Give me a Simbu movie, with his mindless punch dialogues, I’ll gladly watch it. Wolverine knocking down people like bowling pins — anytime!
Same with books. The Blandings never left a dull moment. Jeeves pouncing to the rescue, in his inimitable style made P.G Wodehouse a staple read. Gary Lawson’s warped sense of humor is always in someplace within arms reach. Have you browsed through the Devil’s Dictionary? It’s cynical, sarcastic, witty, brutally honest and hilarious. Here’s a gist of how it runs:
Habit, n. A shackle for free.
Public, n. The negligible factor in problems of legislation.
Fraud, n. The life of commerce, the soul of religion, the bait of courtship and the basis of political power.
Emotion, n. A prostrating disease caused by a determination of the heart to the head. It is sometimes accompanied by a copious discharge of hydrated chloride of sodium from the eyes.
And I’m divulging copious details of the book…
Long story short, in my quest for funny and not overtly silly, children’s picture books, I found a book that would knock your socks off. Erm, I meant your child would really like it. I still have a little control in the selection process of books for my son and I always keep it simple and easy going. Preachy books are a big bore! Manners and moral-of-the-story kind are a sheer waste of time! To use an analogy: you can’t learn to bicycle by reading about it. With life kids get the hang of what’s right and not. They make mistakes we correct them and life goes on.
The Three Ninja Pigs
Corey Rosen Schwartz and illustrated by Dan Santat.
This book is a hilarious take on the Three Little Pigs and Wolf story.
As the old story goes, the wolf likes to huff and puff and blow houses down. The three sibling pigs had had enough. The first little pig starts aikido lessons. Like the gazillion classes we enrolled into and discontinued, the first little pig drops out early, thinking he knew enough to save his skin.
His brother, the second pig, learns jujitsu, thinks he’s a Pro and drops out early as well. The third sister pig trains in karate. Sticks to the program and masters her moves.
The wolf blows down pig One and Two’s houses easily, for well, they weren’t quite into it and as a consequence; ill prepared. Pig Three cannot be messed with, she can backflip, break piles of bricks and everything else karate black belts did. The wolf realizes he’s been out-rivaled and scrams.
The fun part is the language and the flow of words. Plus the pork and bacon references. The illustrations are a perfect comical match for the story line. The snow capped mountain with the hills and cherry blossoms are postcard perfect.
With that, it’s sayonara from me.
