View source for This Book Wants to Make You Laugh (Living Book) by Justine Avery and Daria Yudina

{{infobox2
|title= This Book Wants to Make You Laugh (Living Book) 
|sort= This Book Wants to Make You Laugh (Living Book) 
|author=Justine Avery and Daria Yudina
|reviewer= Jill Murphy
|genre= For Sharing
|summary=Another in Justine Avery's ''Living Book'' series. Its mission is to make you laugh. And it succeeds!
|rating= 4
|buy= Yes
|borrow= Yes
|pages= 36
|publisher= Suteki Creative
|date= March 2020
|isbn= 978-1948124539  
|cover=194812453X
|aznuk=194812453X
|aznus=B0843WMR7H
}}

This Living Book is on a mission. What's the mission? To make you laugh! I can't think of many better missions than that, can you? Let's see how it does...

.... well, it opens up with a terrible joke. A groany joke, an eye-roll joke. The joke isn't very funny but it is funny to see how enthusiastic and how generously this book wants to make you laugh - ''Oh, I'm terrible at jokes. Some books are so good at them. I always wanted to help someone laugh.'' Its initial joke having fallen somewhat flat, Living Book wonders if it can borrow one from its reader - ''Then lots of them would see it. And maybe one of them would laugh. And then, I would be the happiest book alive!''

And just in case no reader jokes are forthcoming, Living Book tries out some funny drawings - a pig in a bubble bath with a happy grin on its face, a sheep using hair straighteners to tame its super-curly fleece. Your smile will get a bit bigger and a bit bigger again, and I promise you'll laugh in the end! The best joke, like all the best jokes, is saved until last and I'm not going to spoil it for you. You'll just have to find it for yourself. Suffice to say, Living Book is very happy about it. Because you laughed. You definitely did.

''This Book Wants to Make You Laugh'' is another in Justine Avery's ''Living Book'' series. You can read about the first one [[This Book Is Alive! (Living Book) by Justine Avery and Daria Yudina|here]]. The idea is that anthropomorphising a book will encourage children to see reading as a two-way process. The more you put in, the more you get out - books ''want'' you to read them. Books don't belong on shelves: they belong in the hands of readers. It's an important message.

As ever, with Avery's books, the text is clear, accessible, bright and optimistic. It invites children in and gently expands vocabulary in an easy, relaxed way. There are plenty of jokes and an air of joint discovery. Daria Yudina's illustrations are expressive and full of open emotions - in this book, my favourite was the poor sheep, who looked more like a lampshade than a fleece after its efforts at coiffure. Its crestfallen expression is a sight to behold, as is its pure joy when the rain comes and returns it to its natural, shaggy self.

I liked this welcoming little story immensely. It's packed full of gentle fun and provides all sorts of opportunities for discussion between parent and child - especially ones that might lead to laughter. What more could you want?

Other books for sharing that want to make you laugh include [[The Bunny That Couldn't Be Found by Angela Mitchell]] and [[Fix-It Duck by Jez Alborough]]. And don't forget other books in Justine's ''Living Book'' series - for example, [[This Book Is Alive! (Living Book) by Justine Avery and Daria Yudina|This Book Is Alive!]].

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[[Category:Justine Avery]] [[Category:Daria Yudina]]