Review: Guys Laugh (and a contest!)

There is nothing more important in the world than getting boys to read.

Well, there’s access to clean water and food.

And that entire pesky disease thing.

Fine, there’s our broken education system too!

Ahem. Because there are only three things more important than getting boys to read, I’m reviewing three books today. Each of them made me laugh like a ticklish hyena in a feather factory, and I think they’ll get your boys to laugh too. 

As a bonus, there’s a contest! Keep reading and find out how to win.

The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex, is one of my favorites. On the surface an alien invasion story, it’s actually a buddy book pairing an ET who names himself JLo and a earth-girl named Tip. The entire novel is filled with the ridiculous, the hilarious, and even the poignant as Tip and JLo go cross-country in Tip's car (which hovers much better after JLo fixes it) in an attempt to save the Earth from annihilation. An extra bonus: Rex throws in fantastic drawings and even some pages out of an alien comic book. If you've never seen aliens who communicate by punching each other in the face, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka, is a compilation of short stories by some of the all-stars of the middle grade world. The great thing about this book is that you can snap through a story in a couple of minutes whenever you have time, so it could make perfect bedtime reading. One story alone is worth the price of admission: Eoin Colfer, the author of the Artemis Fowl series, writes about how Artemis came to be. It's a comical but touching piece, amazing how much humor and power Colfer can pack into just a few pages. Adam Rex has a hilarious story as well.

Finally, The Brixton Brothers, by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Adam Rex, is one of my new favorites. Steve Brixton is on a quest to become a detective, assisted by the ridiculously outdated Bailey Brothers’ Detective Handbook. Rex’s drawing of the type #3 villain, The Hermit (crazy old man wielding an anchor) might be the funniest thing I had ever experienced. That is, until I read about Steve’s exploits going undercover as a sailor, dressed in an outfit as directed by the Bailey Brothers' Detective Handbook.

AND NOW THE BIG QUESTION. You’re tearing your hair out by now, wondering what the contest is and how you can win one of these amazing books. Tell us already, you purple-flabbered dingleberry!

First of all, that’s not nice.

Second, I chose these three books not only because they all made me crack up, but because I discovered that something amazing links them all. And it's not that Adam Rex is featured in all three (although I do have a teensy weensy man-crush on him). 

Fifth, the holy hand grenade of Antioch.

Third, the THIRD person who gives the answer I’m looking for (in the comments) wins his/her choice of the three books.

Go!

-- Jeff, The Philosopher King and Benevolent Smasher of Pestilential Thinking