Bill was off school with his own germs recently. It happened to coincide with the delivery to our house of a small volume called 'Monkeyfarts'; a joke book put together by David Borgenicht. It's fair to say that he found it quite as healing as any Regency Romance. He lay wrapped in a duvet on the sofa and proceeded to read me the entire book from cover to cover.: "Hur hur! Listen to this one Mum! And listen to this one! And this one! And this one!"
Now I can't say that hearing an entire joke book in one go is my idea of funny but I am not an 8 year old boy. Joke books are second only to Freaky Fact books in constituting Bill's Ideal Dinner Table Entertainment and he loves to share in a slightly life sapping completist fashion: They are more or less irresistible to him. I would suggest that they should also be the first call for anyone trying to sneak some reading into an unsuspecting refusenik; although be prepared to have to listen for a Long Stretch.
Having said that, 'Monkeyfarts' is a pretty comprehensive and stylishly put together example of the genre; with a good mix of some old classics and some newbies. Bill particularly appreciated the Star Wars section, the Harry Potter section and, of course, the poo section.
I liked this one:
'What did one snowman say to the other snowman?
Do you smell carrots?'
So there y'go. 'Monkeyfarts': the poorly 8 year old's Georgette Heyer.
as for the Freaky Facts. Did you know that duelling is legal in Paraguay provided you are a registered blood donor? Neither did I until Bill told me so over his porridge bowl this morning. Useful stuff.
Disclaimer: We were sent a copy by kindness of the publisher. Our opinions are our own.
