Brad Taylor
1 Motivation for Struggling Readers
The Family Joke Book, by Brad Taylor, and illustrated by Hank Blaustein offers excellent, motivating written material for instructing struggling readers. Its organization into age groups allows for students to read age-appropriate, short jokes while being taught to infer - an often assessed, but rarely taught comprehension strategy. As students learn how an inference involves both reading the text and applying ones background knowledge to "get it," they are given several opportunities per page to become aware of the thinking processes required of an inference. The "ah-ha" is the chuckle or laugh out loud, confirming the inference has been made, and students are able to describe how they made it - i.e. explain why the joke is funny. As an introduction to teaching students to infer in any text, this book is a valuable and motivating teaching tool. Highly recommended by a Title 1 Teacher!
2 Great wholesome stories and terrific, clean jokes.
Illustrated with line drawings by Hank Blaustein, Brad Taylor's The Family Joke Book offers the reader a wonderful, highly recommended collection of wholesome stories and clean jokes loosely divided into four broad age groups. Ideal for browsing, reading to family and friends, or as resource material for public speaking, these jokes and humorous short stories are great good fun. For example: People have one thing in common - they're all different.; A day without sunshine is like night.; Can atheists get insurance for Acts of God?; Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?
3 This really IS a family joke book
Jenny (age 7.5) says, "This book should have a Caldecott Medal!" Jen read the draft and the published copy and gave them both five stars. "It really IS a family joke book," she said. Mom likes the "turtle joke" (p. 10). Dad likes "the grammar lesson" (p. 9). And Jenny likes "a tongue twister" (p. 9) and many more (which we hear on a regular basis), remarks Dad. A great collection of jokes you can tell anyone, anywhere (says Mom).
