The Stupids Have a Ball

I dare you to read The Stupids Have A Ball, out loud to a ten year old and not lose your composure. The Stupids are, as they say, one taco shy of a combo platter. No, make that two. Mama Stupid wears buckets for shoes and the painting of Mount Stupid is a of a completely flat lawn. The telling sells the whole thing short, this is a marvelous, laugh-yourself-sick cartoon book from a series. Kids get it when they start to laugh at incongruities, maybe age seven, maybe later. Grown-ups get it too, but it really helps to have a kid handy when you read it. Lynn Hoffman, author bang BANG: A Novel

I read this to my daughters when they were children (now in their early 30's with children of their own). They loved it then and asked if we still had the "Stupids" books. Couldn't find them so ordered new. The cycle continues with healthy laughs and silly references to the Stupids when our family does something equally stupid (well, almost equally). The Stupids Step Out is still the favorite of all. The Stupids Have a Ball is a very close second. This series is much more healthy and child-oriented than the "Dumb Bunnies" in my opinion. The Dumb Bunnies are hilarious, just not as clean-cut and simply funny.

Harry Allard and James Marshall once again create a masterpiece, featuring the Stupids. Everything about this is perfect - the plot, the details, the illustrations that add the perfect counterpart to the text. I read this book with my family as a child, and we frequently had to stop to catch our breath because we were laughing too hard to read. Can't wait to read it to my children.