Our middle grade book spotlight this week is all about humorous books as April is National Humor Month!!! Books are some of the best ways to get some laughs and are filled with so many different types of humor; some catch you by surprise while there are others that are ones that could actually happen or that you wish would actually happen. If you are ever in need of a good laugh or a better day, check out one of these--we have some that are in diary/journal format while others are straight chapter books so there is something for everyone and every mood. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthhumor as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new middle grade book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
The Tapper Twins Go To War (with Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey--Twelve-year-old fraternal twins Claudia and Reese couldn't be more different, except in their shared determination to best one another in whatever they do. After Reese draws attention to Claudia for allegedly farting in the school cafeteria, right in front of her crush, Claudia vows to get Reese back. Thus begins a vicious prank war with increasingly clever and devastating pranks. Finally Claudia decides to hit Reese where it will hurt—in his online Minecraft-like game world that he has spent a long time building. Who will win the war?
Home Sweet Motel by Chris Grabenstein--P.T. Wilkie and his friend Gloria must solve a mystery at his family's wacky motel, The Wonderland, before they can attract guests and save the future of the motel.
When Mischief Came to Town by Katrina Nannestad--After her mother dies, young Inge Maria finds herself traveling to the island of Bornholm off the coast of Denmark to live with her stern grandmother. Trouble keeps finding Inge: on the boat she bunks next to a hungry goat that manages to munch off one of her pigtails. Her grandmother must knit her a hat to conceal the damage. Bornholm is quiet and Inge's propensity for mischief and adventure doesn't quite fit. However, Inge may be just what her sullen grandmother—and the town—needs to liven things up.
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths--Andy and Terry (the metaphysical author and illustrator) live in the greatest treehouse ever, complete with a bowling alley, an underground (somehow still in a tree) laboratory, mermaids, gorillas, flying cats, a shark tank, even a see-through swimming pool. The problem is that tomorrow their mean publisher, Mr. Big Nose, is expecting their next book—and they haven't even started brainstorming yet because of all the awesome distractions! When the decide to get down to work, the mermaids, gorillas, flying cats, giant bananas, sea monsters, and burp-gas-bubblegum bubbles try to stop them.
Payback on Poplar Lane by Margaret Mincks--A friendly neighborhood business competition between sixth-graders Rachel Chambers, so quiet she is practically invisible, and Peter S. Gronkowski, future mogul, turns into a ruthless rivalry.
Ungifted by Gordon Korman--Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school.