For some silly poem books try these titles:
A Light in the Attic, poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein, HarperCollins Publishers, 1981 – This is a classic collection of silly poems of which I never tire of reading. For Shel Silverstein’s first poetry book tryDon’t Bump the Glump!
Because I Could Not Stop My Bike and other poems, by Karen Jo Shapiro and illustrated by Matt Faulkner, Charlesbridge Whispering Coyote, 2003—This is a great book to further show kids what parodies are as it is full of funny versions of celebrated poems .
Bubblegum Delicious, by Dennis Less and illustrated by David McPhail, Key Porter Books, 2000 – a fun book of Dennis Lee’s children’s poems. For another classic Dennis Lee book try Alligator Pie!
Lots of Limericks, selected by Cohn Livingston, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1991 – This is a large collection of limericks.
There Once Was a Very Odd School, by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Tamara Petrosino, Dutton Children’s Books, 2004 – This is a book of school related limericks that isn’t too long.
Twimericks: The Book of Tongue-Twisting Limericks, written and illustrated by Lou Brooks, Workman Books, 2009 – For a fun twist on limericks try this book! They are a challenge to read aloud because they are also tongue-twisters!
How to encourage your child to write:
Choose the level of your child:
Toddler/Preschool – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and have your child draw a picture of the answer
Preschool/Kindergarten – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and write the answer down for him/her leaving one word for him/her to write out himself/herself with your help. You could also encourage him/her to draw a picture as well.
Early Grade School – have your child either write out the answer himself/herself (encourage phonetic spelling) without your help, or offer to help with spelling each word out loud one word at a time.
Grade School – have your child write a sentence or two on his/her own and then read over and discuss the response. (You decide whether to correct the spelling or not)
Older Child – have your child write a longer response (paragraph).
As A Challenge – instead of a question ask your older child to write a story or poem about any subject they choose.
JOURNALING:
For some picture books about April Fools’ Day search for these books:
April Foolishness, by Teresa Bateman and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, Albert Whitman and Company,2004 – When the grandkids visit the farm they try to fool Grandpa…are they successful?
April Fool, Phyllis!, by Susanna Leonard Hill and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler, Holiday House, 2011—Punxsutawney Phyllis tries to warn everyone that a blizzard is on it’s way so they will cancel the treasure Hunt but no one believes her because it’s April Fools’ Day!
Barnyard Fun, by Maureen Wright and illustrated by Paul Ràtz de Tagyos, Amazon Children’s Publishing, 2013 – What will horse do when Sheep goes a bit overboard in his April Fool’s jokes.
Aspiring poets or little comedians may enjoy the challenge of writing their own silly poem, either a parody or a limerick or their own creation. Let their imaginations go wild!!
Write out one or more of the following questions in your Family Theme Day Scrapbook or on a piece of paper to glue in your scrapbook:
What is your favourite joke? Have you ever made up your own joke/ What was it? Can you think of a favourite knock know joke? Can you make up your own joke?
Copyright 2014, Family Theme Days. All rights reserved.
Try to find some of these titles for a few fun joke books:
April Fool’s Day Jokes to Tickle Your Funny Bone, by Amellia LaRoche, Enslow Elementary, 201 3—A book full of jokes and fun facts.
Ha! Ha! Ha! And Much More: The Ultimate Round-up of Jokes, Riddles, facts, & Puzzles, written by Lyn Thomas and illustrated by Dianne Eastman, Maple Tree Press, 2008 – This is a big book with lots of riddles and jokes plus interesting facts about animals, the body, weather etc.
Jokelopedia: The Biggest Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever, compiled by Ilana Weitzman, Eva Blank, Alicon Benjamin, and Rosanne Green, illustrated by Mike Wright, Workman Publishing, 2006 - My kids love this one!
Just Joking: 300 hilarious jokes, tricky tongue twisters, and ridiculous riddles, National Geographic Society, 2012—This book is full of fun!
Kids Kookiest Riddles, by Steve Charney and illustrated by Rob Collinet, Sterling,2005 – A good selection of jokes for kids to read.
Knock Knock! The Best Knock Knock Jokes Ever!, Kingfisher, 1995 - This little paperback is full of silly knock knock jokes.
Knock, Knock! illustrated by many different artists! Dial Books for Young Readers - this is a fun book with surprising illustrations that match the funny knock knock jokes.
Puns and Games: Jokes, riddles, daffynitions, tairy fales, rhymes, and more word play for kids, by Richard Lederer and illustrated by Dave Morice, Chicago Review Press, 1996 - A great book for older kids with lots to read and laugh about.
Recess Riddles, by Marilyn Helmer and illustrated by Jane Kurisu, Kids Can Press, 2004 – This joke book is a level 3 Read Alone book, great for beginner readers.
For some non-fiction books about April Fools’ Day try these:
April Fool’s Day, by Melissa Schiller, Children’s Press, 2003 – This is a small book with large easy to read text perfect for beginner readers but still had some interesting facts that I didn’t even know.
BOOKS
Reading and Writing
Raid your child’s bookshelves to find any joke books. Or go to the library with your children to find joke and riddle books. You could even go online to your libraries website and search for titles based on subject (Search for “April Fools’ Day” or “Jokes and riddles” under “Children’s Books”) to reserve them if you can to save time.