crystal_reading's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved Eoin Colfer's story about how he came up with Artemis Fowl. I also loved the story by DiCamillo and Sciezska. The mummy story was pretty funny too, but the others didn't hit my funny bone as much. I have shared my two favorites with 5th grade students and they enjoyed them too.
karennaftel's review against another edition
3.0
Really didn't meet my expectations...I expected a whole lot more silly. Only Adam Rex's story, 'Will', was good-ish. I was never one for short stories anyways.
mrerickeith's review against another edition
3.0
Preface: I am not a 12 year old boy. I am a nearly 30 year old 4th grade teacher.
I was hoping for some stories that were a bit funnier. I felt the book was inconsistent in its humor. Jeff Kinney's story was perhaps my favorite. Kate DiCamillo and Jon Sciezka wrote a fun story. Jack Gantos's story made me queasy but I found it funny. The rest to me were somewhat forgettable. Some stories used humor at the expense of others which I didn't appreciate. But once again, I'm not a twelve year old boy.
I was hoping for some stories that were a bit funnier. I felt the book was inconsistent in its humor. Jeff Kinney's story was perhaps my favorite. Kate DiCamillo and Jon Sciezka wrote a fun story. Jack Gantos's story made me queasy but I found it funny. The rest to me were somewhat forgettable. Some stories used humor at the expense of others which I didn't appreciate. But once again, I'm not a twelve year old boy.
alinaborger's review against another edition
I haven't thought about Jack Gantos in a long time, but his story in this collection--of pulling a wart out of his foot with a pair of garden shears--left my son and I in absolute tears of laughter. I think what makes his story compelling is the internalization of his voice coupled with the kinds of details and metaphors a kid--specifically a boy--that age would use. Like when his foot is bleeding, he talks about the blood squirting out like water from the water fountain, leaving a little trail down the hall.
Gantos also manages the relationship between the kid and his mother effectively; it reminded me a bit of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in that way, actually. What do you do with a perfectly sane, loving mother? You introduce mischief that she simply has to deal with. Of course she does it like an adult, and her kid does it like a kid, and kids always do mischief better than adults--until they're at risk for blood poisoning and have to come clean about their shenanigans, anyhow.
We also had a rollicking time with Paul Feig's story, "My Parents Gave My Bedroom to a Biker," which turned out to be quite a bit more speculative than we expected. In that story, it's not mischief, it's genuine trouble, and the kid turns out to be the hero who saves his parents.
Kate DiCamillo's epistolary contribution to this collection had me hooked from start to finish (my son much less so). In her case, the dry adult/author voice paired with a clueless and relentless kid was almost the reverse of Gantos; in DiCamillo's story, the adult genuinely understands more than the kid all along, and her understanding progresses the plot and saves the day.
The craft takeaway is pretty clear to me: it's funnier when the kids are in charge.
Gantos also manages the relationship between the kid and his mother effectively; it reminded me a bit of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in that way, actually. What do you do with a perfectly sane, loving mother? You introduce mischief that she simply has to deal with. Of course she does it like an adult, and her kid does it like a kid, and kids always do mischief better than adults--until they're at risk for blood poisoning and have to come clean about their shenanigans, anyhow.
We also had a rollicking time with Paul Feig's story, "My Parents Gave My Bedroom to a Biker," which turned out to be quite a bit more speculative than we expected. In that story, it's not mischief, it's genuine trouble, and the kid turns out to be the hero who saves his parents.
Kate DiCamillo's epistolary contribution to this collection had me hooked from start to finish (my son much less so). In her case, the dry adult/author voice paired with a clueless and relentless kid was almost the reverse of Gantos; in DiCamillo's story, the adult genuinely understands more than the kid all along, and her understanding progresses the plot and saves the day.
The craft takeaway is pretty clear to me: it's funnier when the kids are in charge.
shawol87's review against another edition
4.0
The stories in this book are very good. I just don't like that it is marketed as a book solely for boys/guys. I'm a firm believer that no matter your gender, you like what you like.
pwbalto's review against another edition
5.0
It's like an old-fashioned hippie potluck, but with a big sack of Halloween candy where you'd expect the tabbouleh salad to be. But JEEZ I have been having trouble writing this review! I start off all right, I'm all, "Oh, I love guys, don't you love guys? Yeah, guys. Guys are gonna love this book," but then I get into having to give examples of why they're gonna love this book and all of a sudden the thing sounds just APPALLING.
So I'm not going to give any examples. Nope. Ok, here: in Christopher Paul Curtis's story "Iron John," the title character tricks his young children into thinking that he is so cold that his nipples have frozen, and he pretends to rip them off. And then his oldest son eats them.
See?
Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/2010/06/guys-read-jon-scieszka-review.html
So I'm not going to give any examples. Nope. Ok, here: in Christopher Paul Curtis's story "Iron John," the title character tricks his young children into thinking that he is so cold that his nipples have frozen, and he pretends to rip them off. And then his oldest son eats them.
See?
Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/2010/06/guys-read-jon-scieszka-review.html
rachel_abby_reads's review against another edition
3.0
My favorite stories were "Will" and "Your Question for Author Here." The others were okay, but definitely felt more for kids than the odd curious adult. I'm not sure how to process "A Fistful of Feathers."
book_nut's review against another edition
4.0
While it wasn't perfect, Eoin Colfer's story was enough to make the book for me.
ajsterkel's review against another edition
3.0
When I was a kid, I was what everybody called a “reluctant reader.” Basically, if you put a book in my hands, I’d do everything in my childish power not to read it. Jon Scieszka’s picture books are some of the first books I remember reading on my own and actually liking. His strange sense of humor worked on rebellious child-me.
I was very interested to see what kind of anthology Scieszka would curate. The Guys Read series is aimed at “reluctant reader” middlegrade boys, and the theme of this particular book is “humor.” Like all anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. A few of the stories are great, a few are terrible, and most are somewhere in between.
For me, these are the standout stories:
“Best of Friends” by Mac Barnett is about an annoying kid who tells his classmates that he won a sweepstakes. Suddenly, everyone wants to be his best friend. The characters in this story are all morally gray, so I automatically liked it.
“Artemis Begins” by Eoin Colfer is autobiographical (I think?). Eoin’s younger brother breaks their mother’s acting award, and his older brother goes to great lengths to keep the younger brother out of trouble. It was interesting to learn that many of Eoin’s story ideas come from growing up with rambunctious siblings.
My favorite story is “A Fistful of Feathers” by David Yoo. It’s about a boy whose parents attempt to replace him with a pet turkey. The plot is completely ridiculous, but somehow it’s also compelling. The characters are unique enough that I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to them.
I wasn’t sure if I liked or hated “What? You Think You Got It Rough?” by Christopher Paul Curtis when I finished it. It’s about an abusive grandfather who tells his grandson a disgusting story about hotdog nipples. The ending is too sappy for me, but the story is well-written and gross, so it somehow stuck in my mind.
It’s hard for me to critique this anthology because I’m about as far from the target audience as you can get. For me, none of these stories are funny. They’re creative, entertaining, and totally disgusting, but I don’t remember laughing while reading. I can see how this book would appeal to young boys, though, so if you have a young reluctant reader, you might want to try this anthology.
I was very interested to see what kind of anthology Scieszka would curate. The Guys Read series is aimed at “reluctant reader” middlegrade boys, and the theme of this particular book is “humor.” Like all anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. A few of the stories are great, a few are terrible, and most are somewhere in between.
“Your brain is doing some great work when it's laughing.” – Guys Read: Funny Business
For me, these are the standout stories:
“Best of Friends” by Mac Barnett is about an annoying kid who tells his classmates that he won a sweepstakes. Suddenly, everyone wants to be his best friend. The characters in this story are all morally gray, so I automatically liked it.
“Artemis Begins” by Eoin Colfer is autobiographical (I think?). Eoin’s younger brother breaks their mother’s acting award, and his older brother goes to great lengths to keep the younger brother out of trouble. It was interesting to learn that many of Eoin’s story ideas come from growing up with rambunctious siblings.
My favorite story is “A Fistful of Feathers” by David Yoo. It’s about a boy whose parents attempt to replace him with a pet turkey. The plot is completely ridiculous, but somehow it’s also compelling. The characters are unique enough that I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to them.
I wasn’t sure if I liked or hated “What? You Think You Got It Rough?” by Christopher Paul Curtis when I finished it. It’s about an abusive grandfather who tells his grandson a disgusting story about hotdog nipples. The ending is too sappy for me, but the story is well-written and gross, so it somehow stuck in my mind.
It’s hard for me to critique this anthology because I’m about as far from the target audience as you can get. For me, none of these stories are funny. They’re creative, entertaining, and totally disgusting, but I don’t remember laughing while reading. I can see how this book would appeal to young boys, though, so if you have a young reluctant reader, you might want to try this anthology.
mrsweems's review against another edition
4.0
A few of the stories were outstanding to read to my students. If you enjoy boy humor and funny antics then this is a good book.