This week’s Brainstorm brings you those funny series I promised you last week (see Brainstorm 265 for more funny reads). Highlighting a whole series can be challenging, so I’ll give a little summary of the series, and then the review for my favorite in the series (or at least one of my favorites). Click on the titles from each series featured to see my full review for that book and to get an idea of any content issues/trigger warnings (search for my reviews of each book in the series to get an even better picture).
The American Heiresses series by Jen Turano
Jen Turano writes Christian historical romance adventures about young ladies of fortune in turn of the century New York City. And the seriously funny scrapes they get themselves into. Each book in this series of 3 highlights a different young lady in a circle of friends. While some elements of her books are predictable, they incorporate faith elements in natural ways and include some of the funniest scenes I’ve ever read. Turano has several other series that are also quite funny and in a similar vein.
Flights of Fancy (#1)
Isadora Delafield is one of the most eligible heiresses in America (in other words, she has a very large dowry and is beautiful). Her mother is delighted when the Duke of Montrose becomes enamored with Isadora, but Isadora finds the man slimy and despicable. When he refuses to stop pursuing her hand even after she gives him the cut direct very publicly things get more serious. Because Isadora finds out that the man never gives up when he sets his mind that he wants something and that his past three wives all died under mysterious circumstances. Her best friend and two servants come up with a plan to save Isadora. She must go to the countryside and hide out as a servant until her father can get back and deal with the Duke. Isadora, soon to be Izzie Delmont agrees. How hard can being a housekeeper in the backwoods of Pennsylvania be?
Target Readers:
Laugh Out Loud Funny Fans, Christian Fiction Fans, Historical Romance Fans, Adult Readers (though very approachable to YA)
Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series by Mo Willems & friends
Piggie & Gerald do the intros and conclusions to these wildly imaginative, and reliably humorous little beginning reader stories written and illustrated by the likes of Dan Santat, Laurie Keller, Ryan T. Higgins, and LeUyen Pham. There are currently 8 books in the series, with #9 due out in May 2022.
I’m on It (Elephant & Piggie Like Reading, #8) by Andrea Tsurumi & Mo Willems
A goat and a frog challenge each other to carry out various actions. But will they take things too far?
This goat and frog get up to some wild shenanigans that will have kids very entertained and is great for preposition learners & idiom learners.
Target Readers:
Humor Fans, Beginning Readers, Elephant & Piggie Fans, Imaginative Readers, Picture Book Readers
FoxTrot series by Bill Amend
The comic adventures of the FoxTrot family with Mom’s culinary creations that send the family running, Dad’s grilling mishaps, Peter’s sports and academic foibles, Paige’s teen girl drama, and Jason’s nerding out to the nth degree. There are many, many FoxTrot book collections at this point. I’ll just highlight the most recent.
A laugh out loud collection of comics featuring the Fox family's daily antics all throughout the year. This one includes some of what I’d consider all-time best FoxTrot comics.
Target Readers:
Family Story Fans, Humor Fans, Comic Fans, Scifi/Fantasy Film Fans, Math & Science Nerds, Middle Grade Readers on up
Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist series by Jim Benton
Franny is a young mad scientist who loves to experiment, has a part-dog part-something assistant named Igor, is a work in progress in the social skills area, has plotlines that give nods to famous scifi books and movies and tropes, and as the series progresses Franny learns and grows to be nicer and nicer, and sneakily works in moral lessons readers will never notice coming.
Bad Hair Day (#8)
Franny scoffs when her mom suggests she might want to try using a hairdryer, makeup, or hairspray. But then she realizes she scoffs because she doesn't understand, and science is all about figuring out that which you don't understand. So Franny decides to tackle the unknown and puts her own spin on beauty products. Yes, she may also inadvertently create a monster rampaging through town. But that's all right. She and Igor can handle a little hair, right? But everyone knows hair is very hard to tame.
Target Readers:
Humor Fans, Scifi Fans, Science Lovers, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Readers
The Genius Factor series by Paul Tobin
Nate Bannister is a genius. When he gets bored, he likes to create challenges for himself, which always gets a bit…exciting for his friend Delphine, and the rest of their town. An extremely imaginative and very funny series.
How to Capture an Invisible Cat (#1)
Delphine's life is pretty normal. Ok, as normal as can be for an outgoing girl a little prone to escapades that may get her in trouble. But that all changes the day she becomes friends with the class genius, Nate. Nate gets bored being so brilliant all the time and ever Friday the 13th he schedules in to do 3 dumb things just to keep life interesting. There was a Friday the 13th recently and one of the dumb things Nate did was to enlarge his family cat Proton to the size of an elephant, turn him invisible, and hide seven molecules around town that contain clues how to change Proton back and then purposely forget the formula so he has to find the clues. Nate has his trusty talking dog Bosper to help him, and he and Bosper have decided that Delphine would make a good friend so they recruit her too. Soon Delphine finds herself doing a number of things she never dreamed of when she woke up that morning, like talking to a dog, becoming friends with a sentient car, and being stalked by a gigantic invisible cat that escapes Nate's house and goes on an invisible rampage around town. It's a good thing Delphine likes adventures.
Target Readers:
Laugh Out Loud Humor Fans, Scifi Fans, Adventure Fans, Imaginative Readers, Friendship Story Fans, Genius Character Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Katie the Catsitter series by Colleen AF Venable, ill. by Stephanie Yue
Katie is a teen trying to earn some money and becomes the catsitter for her neighbor. That job isn’t anywhere near as simple as it sounds. Her neighbor has 217 cats, and the cats can do things like hack, design spy tech, and other things Katie is NOT prepared to handle. While Katie juggles friendship issues and life in general, the cats provide hilarious comedic relief in the background. So far there are 2 books in this graphic novel series.
Katie the Catsitter (#1)
Katie is trying to find a way to earn money so she can join her two best friends for at least one week of camp this summer. So far, she's learned that the older gentleman in her apartment is crazy fit and she's a wimp at carrying groceries. She is better at killing plants than watering them. And she's not so gifted in the cleaning department either. When her upstairs neighbor Ms. Lang hears that Katie is trying to earn money for camp, she offers her a catsitting gig. Every night Katie goes and spends a few hours with Ms. Lang's 217 (!) cats and tries to survive the experience. These cats are insane! But rather than give up, Katie is determined to beat these felines at their own game and win this battle of wits. But what is going on with the superheroes in the city? And why does Ms. Lang happen to be gone every night the villain Mousetress strikes? And why has her best friend stopped writing her as frequently from camp?
Target Readers:
Graphic Novel Fans, Superhero Fans, Cat Lovers, Laugh Out Loud Humor Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Scifi Fans, Middle Grade Readers on up
Lesser Spotted Animals series by Martin Brown
Martin Brown uses this nonfiction series to let the animals who never make it into books have their day.
Even More Lesser Spotted Animals (#2)
Martin Brown introduces 24 critters who are literary underdogs. They don't make it into books much, so you've likely never heard of them before. Each animal gets a full or half page illustration, a couple paragraphs about their unique attributes, and a fact box about where they live, their diet, their endangered status, and one other random fact.
Martin Brown sure knows how to add just the right dashes of humor to a fact-filled book. It is both extremely informative and filled with chuckles (but no misinformation).
Target Readers:
Reluctant Nonfiction Readers, Animal Lovers, Fans of the Obscure, Fact Collectors, Humor Fans, Middle Grade Readers
The Ministry of S.U.I.T.s series by Paul Gamble
Jack and Trudy are recruited to join a secret group of undercover agents working out of Northern Ireland to save the world from Strange, Unusual, and Impossible Things. Their training and missions are wildly imaginative and very, very humorous. If you ever wished James Bond could have had a herd of dinosaurs at his disposal for missions, this is the series for you.
The Ministry of S.U.I.T.s (#1)
Jack is a pretty normal boy. He's not super smart or dumb. He's not super popular, but he is generally well-liked. There's just one area where Jack stands out. He's super curious. Curious to the extent he gets that thing about cats and curiosity and death quoted to him all the time. After rescuing a man from being mauled by a bear in morning traffic, Jack's curiosity leads him to find the organization the man works for, the Ministry of Strange Unusual and Impossible Things. Becoming an agent for the Ministry of S.U.I.T.s is easier than Jack ever would have imagined. Staying alive as an agent and figuring out how to complete missions... that's a bit more challenging. And it is up to Jack and his partner to figure out what is going on at their school and save several fellow students (and maybe all of Northern Ireland). If you like random and silly humor, you NEED this book.
Target Readers:
Zany Laugh Out Loud Humor Fans, Fantasy Fans, Scifi Fans, Spy Fans, Northern Ireland Setting Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Mother Bruce series by Ryan T. Higgins
Bruce is a grumpy bear who begrudgingly ended up the parent of some goslings. Behind the gruff exterior, he has a big heart (but don’t tell anyone), though the forest residents and the geese definitely like to put his patience to the test which generates lots of fun for readers. There are currently 6 full length picture books in this series (#7 comes out in September 2022), 2 Little Bruce books (shorter in stature and page length), a few board books and some leveled readers featuring Bruce.
Spring Stinks (A Little Bruce Book, #1)
Ruth the bunny wants Bruce to join her in enjoying all the smells of spring. While Ruth is excited, Bruce is not.
Just wait for that 4th thing Ruth has Bruce smell. It had me laughing out loud.
Target Readers:
Animal Lovers, Humor Fans, Loveable Grumpy Character Fans, Adopted Family Story Fans, Picture Book Readers
No Fuzzball series by Isabella Kung
A look at a cat’s life from the perspective of her furry majesty. The 2nd book in this series comes out in November 2022.
No Fuzzball! (#1)
A cat who introduces herself as Nofuzzball introduces us to her kingdom and subjects. But then they disappear so she decides to fix the place up and make it an even more appealing so they will return home. A pitch perfect book for cat lovers, especially those who have ever lived with a cat. And very funny.
Target Readers:
Cat Owners, Cat Lovers, Humor Fans, Point of View Studiers, Picture Book Readers
Oh No! series by Mac Barnett, ill. by Dan Santat
A young inventor’s science experiments go rather epically wrong, to the delight and humor of readers.
Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World (#1)
A little girl realizes some serious flaws in her science fair project robot just a little bit late. But never fear, she'll think up something to save the day...probably.
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Humor Fans, Inventor Story Fans, Problem Solving Story Fans, Time Travel Fans, Robot Fans, Picture Book Readers
Polite Predators series by Rachel Poliquin, ill. by Kathryn Durst
Celeste the Cockroach is here to help you know how to politely interact with predators who are oh so desperate to spend some quality time with you, while also providing loads of scientific facts about said predators. There are currently 2 books in this educational fiction series. (#2 just came out this past Tuesday.)
How to Promenade with a Python (and Not Get Eaten) (#1)
Celeste the cockroach is here to help a young man who has been invited to go on a moonlight promenade by a python. Celeste knows all about pythons, and has loads of ideas about how to avoid getting eaten by them. But will her ideas work?
While giving advice, Celeste also dispenses much knowledge about pythons, and comes up with some wild ways to circumvent the potentially deadly bits (like wearing an upside down lampshade on your head to make it too big to swallow, or freezing your clothes so the python's heat sensors won't pick you up). Along the way readers will learn all sorts of things about pythons without even realizing it.
Target Readers:
Animal Lovers, Curious Readers, Educational Fiction Fans, Humor Fans, Lower Grade Readers
Space Drifters series by Paul Regnier
A light-hearted space romp that feels like old school Star Trek meets Guardians of the Galaxy. Their captain has a bounty on his head and a tendency not to take things serious enough, the crew members have been thrown together and each have some very quirky issues to manage while learning to get along, and their missions never go like planned. One of the characters is a Christian who talks about his faith sometimes; this happens naturally and fits what is going on.
The Emerald Enigma (#1)
Captain Glint Starcrost doesn't have to look for trouble, it seems to find him quite easily. All he wants to do is look for the legendary Emerald Enigma. But for some reason he has a staggering bounty on his head, which brings all sorts of interesting people into his life. First, there's bounty hunter Jasette. Of course it isn't Glint's fault that she then in turn gets captured by his academy rival along with him, his first mate Blix, and the kid who randomly appeared after a time travel incident, Nelvan. From there it is out of the frying pan and into the fire for the thrown together crew as they try to escape one bad situation after another.
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Adventure Fans, Humor Fans, Christian Fiction Fans, YA & Adult Readers
Strange Planet series by Nathan W. Pyle
Comics featuring aliens who restate everyday Earth occurrences and experiences in their own unique phrasing, putting a comic twist on things.
Strange Planet (#1)
It's kind of amazing how just using creative vocabulary to describe everyday experiences can give you some poignant realizations and a new perspective. As well as some good laughs. Trying to describe these comics won't do them any justice. Go find some and enjoy. It's safe for all ages, and will build vocabulary and help you practice using semantics and pictorial context clues to find meaning. A brain exercise that's fun!
Target Readers:
Humor Fans, Word Puzzle Fans, Scifi Fans, Everyday Life Events Comics Fans, All Ages
Wallace the Brave series by Will Henry
A collection of comics set in New England coastal town Snug Harbor featuring Wallace, his crazy little brother, his fisherman father, his comic-loving mom, his scaredy-cat best friend Spud, and daring adventurer friend Amelia. And of course, his long-suffering teacher and classmates at school. There are currently 3 books of comic collections out with #4 due out May 2022.
Wallace the Brave (#1)
I think my favorite strip in here was the one where Wallace asks his mom why she’s taking him to the comic book store, and she admits that she’s more than slightly addicted to comics after sampling some to make sure they’re kid appropriate. Wallace’s ideas for alternate modes of transportation are always good for laugh out loud moments. And you know if Sterling shows up, it’ll be disturbingly hilarious. There are definite moments when this reminded me of the antics found in Calvin & Hobbes comics.
Target Readers:
Comic Fans, Humor Fans, Calvin & Hobbes Fans Looking for a New Comic, Family Antics Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Misadventure Fans, Middle Grade Readers on up
Yotsuba&! series by Kiyohiko Azuma, translated by Amy Forsyth
In this manga series, a precocious little girl keeps her adopted dad and their neighbors on their toes in contemporary Japan. There are currently 15 books in this series in English.
Yotsuba has adventures meeting the new neighbor girls who are all older than her, but welcome her like a little sister. She has adventures with her dad in the process of moving and going to the store to get things for their house, and then she catches cicadas with her dad's friend and one of the neighbor girls.
The first couple of stories in this were cute but nothing extraordinary. But then the third story or so Yotsuba's antics and the things that come out of her mouth got hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud repeatedly. Yotsuba is probably 3-4 years old, and true to the age she has no filter on her mouth. She's also quite the bundle of energy and does things you'd expect a 3-4 year old to do. Kiyohiko Azuma writes these situations that are so believable, but also hilarious.
Target Readers:
Contemporary Fiction Fans, Manga Fans, Graphic Novel Fans, Japan Setting Fans, Middle Grade Readers on up
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