Humor

What could be fancier than Christmas?

This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches.

Dahl's thrillingly grotesque book for young readers features Mr. and Mrs. Twit, the smelliest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything — except playing mean jokes on each other, catching innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies, and making their caged monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough.

Annie Barrows introduces Ivy and Bean, two unique girls who certainly didn't plan on becoming friends. Bean, a mischievous yet lovable tomboy, never thought she'd enjoy playing with Ivy, the quiet new neighbor who looks rather boring. Ivy, however, happens to be a witch in training!

Annie Barrows' pint-sized adventurers have captured the attention of young listeners eager for clever and witty stories. Barrows has received multiple accolades, including a starred review from Booklist and glowing praise from School Library Journal. In their fourth outing, bookish Ivy and rambunctious Bean must outwit the most awful babysitter ever - Bean's older sister Nancy.

The adventures of Ivy and Bean continue. In this fifth book, the girls decide to be so good and kind and pure of thought that wild animals will befriend them. When this doesn't work, they decide that perhaps a little badness can be good. Illustrations.

Annie Barrows has won critical acclaim and become fabulously popular among young readers for her enchanting Ivy and Bean books. In Doomed to Dance, Ivy and Bean pester their parents into letting them take ballet lessons - but ballet isn't quite what the girls thought it would be! And now they have to get through the entire ballet course, just like they promised.

Annie Barrows' Ivy & Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go will have kids jumping in their seats one instant and rolling on the floor laughing the next. While Bean is the loudest girl in her class, Ivy is the quietest, best-behaved second grader. So when Ivy scares the whole class silly by saying there's a ghost in the girls' bathroom, everyone is surprised!

Annie Barrows' infectiously fun Ivy & Bean Break the Fossil Record will have kids racing outside to shovel some dirt. Everyone in the second grade wants to set a world record. While other kids attempt to break records involving cartwheels and M&Ms, Ivy has a much neater idea. She and Bean will be the youngest people to ever unearth dinosaur fossils!

Annie Barrows' Ivy and Bean books star a pair of mismatched best friends who are nevertheless inseparable. The science fair is here, and everyone in Ivy and Bean's second-grade class couldn't be more excited. This year's theme is global warming, and all of the kids are working on their own projects and experiments. But what are Ivy and Bean up to?

Ramona's job is to be nice to fussy Mrs. Kemp, who watches her while her mother works. If Mrs. Quimby didn't work, Mr. Quimby couldn't return to college. On top of all that, third grade isn't turning out as Ramona expected, even though she enjoys her class's new reading program, D.E.A.R. Danny the Yard Ape teases her, and, on one horrible day, she throws up - at school.

Ramona's life changes the moment Howie Kemp's mysterious uncle arrives from Saudi Arabia. Howie and his sister, Willa Jean, talk only about Uncle Hobart. Ramona's mother makes secret phone calls and stops eating dessert, and Aunt Bea is hiding something, too. Whatever surprises are in store, Ramona is determined to be happy and helpful.

Big sister Beezus Quimby tries to be patient with her four-year-old little sister, Ramona, but it isn't easy, not when Ramona powders her nose with marshmallows and invites her nursery school class to a party without telling her family. Sometimes Beezus doesn't like Ramona, but the girls are sisters and that means they will always love each other - just not every single minute.

Ramona Quimby is thrilled to be starting kindergarten. She likes a little boy named Davy so much she wants to kiss him, and she loves Susan's beautiful curls so much she wants to pull them to see them boing. Her teacher even promises her a present just for sitting still! So how does Ramona get in trouble? Well, anyone who knows Ramona knows that she is never a pest on purpose.

Genuinely funny books for children are few and far between. So, when a story like Henry Huggins comes along, it comes to stay. Children everywhere see themselves in this irresistible boy's adventures.