Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Starred Review Marcus follows The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy (2006) with another collection of fascinating interviews with some of children's literature's most distinguished authors, including Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and Christopher Paul Curtis. Here the subject is humor, and as Marcus points out in both his introduction and in remarks in the accompanying Story behind the Story feature, humor can be a tricky business to discuss: jokes get lost in translation, and timing is everything. Given the challenges that his focus presents, what Marcus accomplishes in this volume is particularly admirable. Readers searching for laugh-out-loud one-liners or a systematic study of humor will need to look elsewhere. What they'll find, instead, are expertly edited, candid interviews in which writers discuss not only their thoughts about, as Marcus writes, "what makes funny funny" but also the experiences, as both children and adults, that shaped their senses of humor and their work. The resulting anecdotes and musings are poignant and thought-provoking. Carl Hiaasen speaks about handling tormenting on the school bus with self-deprecation; Sharon Creech shares a childhood memory of donning a wild costume designed to lighten the mood of her arguing parents. Biographical introductions, photos (many of the authors in their youth), representative excerpts from the authors' work, and reproductions of inked-over manuscript pages will further draw readers of all ages into these warm, revealing, and, yes, often-funny profiles that make essential reading for aspiring writers and children's literature enthusiasts of all ages.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Gr 6 Up-Marcus invites readers to listen as writers use their own words to tell "how they found their funny bones, their voices, and themselves." These are revealed in a series of interviews with 13 well-known and much-loved writers. Purists will only count 12 actual interviews. (A correspondence from Daniel Pinkwater is included; in it, he is typically offbeat and downright funny.) The selections provide insight into the authors' personalities, how they came to write funny books especially for young readers, experiences that stand out, and more. Each interview begins with a brief prologue by Marcus, a photograph of the writer, and the same question, "What kind of child were you?" Various correspondences, excerpts from their books, and early photographs appear in each one. The inserts suggest the interplay between writer and editor, show a page of a manuscript, or depict the author in an earlier time. Though always illuminating, these intriguing bits sometime impede the flow of the interview. Each one concludes with a list of books. The writers range from raucous (think Jon Scieszka and Daniel Handler) to gentle, thoughtful, or simply softer (e.g., Hilary McKay and Beverly Cleary). Also interviewed are Judy Blume, Sharon Creech, Christopher Paul Curtis, Anne Fine, Carl Hiassen, Norton Juster, Dick King-Smith, and Louis Sachar. As he did with fantasy writers in Wand in the Word (Candlewick, 2006), Marcus provides a glimpse of a group of extraordinary individuals whose books appeal to young readers. This title should find its way onto shelves for readers of all ages. Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Felicity Floo fails to wipe her runny nose while visiting the zoo. Despite a posted warning ("Please Do NOT Pet the Animals"), she infects them with her sticky "green, gloppy goo" hands; the illness is thus dubbed "The Floo." The humorous cautionary tale's angular pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations feature waif-like Felicity plastering her paws all over the emus, toucans, and other creatures.

Kirkus Reviews

Marcus once again unobtrusively gives both rising and established stars in the field a bully pulpit. As usual, readers will learn less about the outer lives of his 13 interviewees—which include the likes of Beverly Cleary, Christopher Paul Curtis, Louis Sachar, Sharon Creech and (with a particularly memorable and hilarious set of comments) Hilary McKay—than their inner ones: how they now would characterize themselves as children; what events or revelations turned them on to writing; what issues or themes are important to them; how certain of their tales, series or characters developed over time. Some entries, such as Carl Hiaasen's earnest rant ("...though my books are supposed to make people laugh, they're serious books. Serious books generally don't come from a happy place") and Daniel Pinkwater's brief refusal to be interviewed, are duds, but most are delights, and readers of all ages will come away with significant insights into the minds and hearts that have created some of children's literature's finest and funniest high spots. The Q& As end with selected reading lists. (Nonfiction. 10 & up)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Kids, adults, scholars—anyone interested in getting some behind-the-scenes info on children's books and their creators, past and present, will find much to enjoy in these eclectic offerings.

<REVIEW PUBLISHER=""Reed Business Information-US"" RELEASEDATE=""08/17/2009"" LANGUAGE=""EN"" SECRIGHTS=""YES"" PUBLICATION=""Publishers Weekly"" PUBDATE=""08/17/2009"" VOLUME=""256"" ISSUE=""33"" PAGE=""62"" SECTION=""Reviews"" SUBSECTION=""Children's Books"" CONTENTTYPE=""Review"" AUTHNAME=""Staff"">Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy Compiled and edited by Leonard S. Marcus. Candlewick, $19.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7636-3254-0

In 12 entertaining interviews (and one equally entertaining e-mail from Daniel Pinkwater declining to participate), Marcus's compilation explores the childhoods, writing processes and senses of humor of well-known writers for children, including Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Daniel Handler, Norton Juster and Jon Scieszka. Marcus's evident knowledge of his subjects' writing makes for some intriguing questions and answers (“I used to crack jokes a lot, but they would always land kind of flat,” says Louis Sachar. “One of the nice things about being a writer is that you get to rewrite—and take back all the stupid things you said”). Photographs, manuscript pages and even e-mail chains between the writers and their editors add fascinating tidbits. Ages 10–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

Voice of Youth Advocates

Although comedy is certainly subjective, most people can agree that there are certain writers who really know how to tickle a readerÆs funny bone. Marcus presents thirteen childrenÆs authors who excel at humorous writing, holding conversations presented in question-and-answer format with Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Sharon Creech, Christopher Paul Curtis, Anne Fine, Daniel Handler, Carl Hiaasen, Norton Juster, Dick King-Smith, Hilary McKay, Daniel Pinkwater, Louis Sacher, and Jon Scieszka. Each conversation begins by asking what kind of a child the author was and flows organically from there. Most of the discussions touch on schedules and routines, how the author began writing, and what the author likes best about being a writer. Photos, both current and from childhood, are included, as are manuscript pages with editorial notations and e-mail exchanges between authors and editors or agents. The format allows each authorÆs voice to come through as they recall interesting, funny stories about their childhoods and the process of writing a book, making the discussions both entertaining and informative. Aspiring writers and readers looking to know more about their favorite authors will enjoy taking a peek at what shaped each authorÆs early years and led them to writing comedic books for children. MarcusÆs anthology is a great, accessible resource for both teachers and students. Lists of select titles are provided for each author. ùAmanda MacGregor.