Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Bennett Cerf's Book of Laughs

Bennett Cerf's Book of Laughs
Bennett Cerf ~ Carl Rose
Random House, 1959


The 11th book published in the Random House Beginner Books series was written by the original funny man and co-founder of Random House, Bennett Cerf. What I like best about this book is that it's essentially a joke book yet told through the misadventures of a little boy named Marvin.

Marvin got a new watch. Jenny asked him, "Does your watch tell the time?"
"No it never tells the time," said Marvin. "I have to look at it."


Classic fun, right?

That night, Marvin was in bed.
His mother called up to him:
"Marvin, did you put out the light?"
Marvin said:
"How would I know? It is too dark for me to see the light."


The pictures (by New Yorker legend, Rose) are hysterical -- making Marvin sneaky, sweet and crude, often all at the same time. Soooooo 1950s.


Also by:
Bennett Cerf's Book of Animal Riddles

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5 comments:

  1. GREAT BLOG! I am so happy to have found it! thanks for all the beautiful memories this is bringing back:)

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  2. This book looks awesome! I wish I could find it.

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  3. Thanks so much for posting this! I had this book when I was a kid in the early 60s. All I could remember was that it was Marvin jokes. I googled marvin joke book and came to your site. As soon as I saw the cover of the book, I recognized it! I ordered it through amazon.com and received it today. What a blast from the past! Now I can pass it on to a new generation!

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