Yesterday the ALISS IUPUI book club had its monthly meeting. Our theme was "Nostalgia November", so we read The Giver and opened up the book club to allow members to bring their children. ALISS's VP, Jennifer, brought her two sons, who arrived carrying Pokemon cards (I had had no idea those were still popular) and a book.
Seeing an opportunity, I asked Owen, the older boy, about the book he had with him. It was one of a series of books about a hamster named Humphrey. This one was called "Winter According to Humphrey", a seasonally appropriate choice. Jennifer and Owen told me the books take place from the hamster's point of view. I asked Owen what he liked about the book. His immediate response was, "It's funny."
I decided not to interrogate him further, as we were all trying to eat pizza and discuss The Giver. (Fortunately his mom knew about my project already and didn't mind me questioning her son.) But I did give more thought to "funny" books. My initial view of popular boys' books focused on their graphic content; when I worked at a public library, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was so popular we could barely keep any on the shelves, and as kids my brothers' favorite series was Captain Underpants. I had assumed that the uniting factor between the two series was the pictures, but I think that assumption may have been misguided. Humphrey's adventures are not illustrated, after all, and they still seem to pass muster with boys.
As I continue my inquiry, I will keep "funny" books in mind.
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