Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Chuckle Book

The Chuckle Book
Mel Crawford ~ Golden Press, 1971

A funny kinda day here in Texas with unseasonable low temperatures and perfect sun. The kinda day when busting out some Mel Crawford illustrated jokes and riddles is ideal.

Filled with period humor and hilarious drawings of boy scouts, clowns and lederhosen, these sillies were definitely culled from a less politically correct time, but still fun to see today.

A cultural time machine of sorts.

I love all things Mel Crawford, one-time animator, Sesame Street illustrator and Golden Books king, and to see him sketch the nut of a joke is pretty awesome. Case in point...

What goes, "Ha, ha, ha, plop!"?
Someone laughing his head off.

What is the similarity between a hippopotamus and an elephant?
Neither one can play tennis.

Scoutmaster: Now Bruce, if you stand with your back to the north and your face to the south, what would be on your left hand?

Bruce: Fingers.

My son loves to make people laugh. I can't deny that watching him command a group of first grade boys with a well-told knock-knock joke gives me a thrill. I've always though teaching children excellent comic timing was part of our job as parents.

This is a good place to start, friends.

Also by:
The Story of Harmony Lane
I'm My Mommy - I'm My Daddy

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Read along on Instagram, Facebook, tumblr, Twitter and Etsy.

5 comments:

  1. ElizabethApril 17, 2012 at 10:54 AM

    I loved this book, and that joke about "What goes Ha Ha Plop" has always been my most favorite joke of all time. I had not remembered it being illustrated in this book!

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  2. Julie at Best Homeschool BuysApril 17, 2012 at 10:10 PM

    I love classic children's books and I love all kinds of visual art, so I keep coming back to your blog. The pictures just make me feel good - so lovely.

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  3. LorriApril 18, 2012 at 12:05 PM

    I second what Julie said, and I love this book - have to find it! Thanks for the review :)

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  4. eco babyApril 18, 2012 at 12:50 PM

    I'm so glad I found your blog. I *love* vintage kids books. They just don't make em like they used to!

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  5. UnknownJuly 19, 2018 at 11:55 PM

    So happy I found this! Got this book for Xmas in the UK some 45 years ago. I loved it even though as a six year old, most of the jokes went over my head.

    ReplyDelete