My Dad Thinks He's Funny
Ah, “dad jokes,” those so-bad-they’re-funny mainstays of fatherly humor. Here is a look from a little boy who begins each page turn with the statement, “My dad thinks he’s funny.” Is Dad funny? Not if you’ve heard these groaners a hundred times before, which you have. Example: “Whenever I say, ‘I’m hungry,’ Dad says, ‘Hello, Hungry. Pleased to meet you.’” But the sheer repetition of these eye-rollers produces a cumulative effect of amusement—and, more to the point, tenderness. Though the boy’s expression is usually neutral, clearly the two are fond of each other, and Dad just wouldn’t be Dad without his wisecracks. There is quite a bit of repetition in the text, but that is mostly ameliorated by Jellett’s mixed-media illustrations, which paste our two characters into a series of unique backdrops, from cardboard to graph paper to construction paper, all of it colored and accessorized page by page to keep things off-kilter. A snicker-inducing read-aloud, especially with Mom. Grades K-2. --Daniel Kraus