Will Giraffe Laugh?

Written and illustrated by Hilary Leung

Cartwheel Books (Scholastic)

978-1-338-21561-8

38 pp.

Ages 2-5

January 2019

For a sweet concept lesson in how friends and a chuckle can make life better, it's Hilary Leung's newest board book Will Giraffe Laugh?

From Will Giraffe Laugh? by Hilary Leung

When Giraffe wakes up grumpy, his friends are there to help. Bear brings on his juggling skills, with no less than a ball, cherries, a plunger, a toothbrush and strawberry, but that doesn't seem to do the trick. Talented Crocodile performs a puppet show for Giraffe who ends up with a puppet stuck to his nose. Sheep makes an awesome balloon dog which unfortunately deflates and torpedoes into Giraffe's eye. Even Frog's versatile tongue gets out of hand and ties up Giraffe while seeking a fly. Finally Ladybug (remember her from Will Ladybug Hug?) tries for a smile with some flowers that only cause Giraffe to sneeze.

From Will Giraffe Laugh? by Hilary Leung

And then it starts to rain. Now everyone is sad, and Giraffe uses all their tricks to attempt to cheer up his friends. The tricks may not work but some humourous tumbles into a muddy swamp has everyone laughing.

From Will Giraffe Laugh? by Hilary Leung

Concept book–books that teach concepts like numbers to very young children–can be dull and lifeless but Hilary Leung's board books, all based on animal questions, are not. Of course, they use bright colours and bold shapes with simple text but the depth of the messages and the emotions evoked in the eyes and body language of Hilary Leung's characters make them neither boring nor facile. In Will Giraffe Laugh?, there is a message about emotions, particularly grumpiness or sadness. While it may be unreasonable to wipe away a friend's depression–though we tend to try to do so–it may be possible to draw someone out of a bad mood, and Will Giraffe Laugh? teaches that, with a little effort and some wonderful friends, relief is within reach. It may be a little messy and not as planned but, in the end, it's a worthwhile endeavour to help improve another's life, even if only temporarily.

Oy Feh So?

by Cary Fagan

Illustrated by Gary Clement

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-148-9

40 pp.

Ages 4-7

2013

Our families can be the fodder of so much humour.  Obviously Cary Fagan's family has provided him with a wealth of laughter if his numerous children's books are any indication.  From The Fortress of Kasper Snit (Tundra, 2004) and its 2 sequels, to My New Shirt (Tundra, 2007) and Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (Tundra, 2009), Cary Fagan capably finds the comedic in relationships, familial and otherwise.

In Oy Feh So?, the arrival of Uncle Sam's old Lincoln marks the beginning of the ritualistic Sunday visit from Aunt Essy, Aunt Chanah and Uncle Sam.  As routine as their visits are, so too are their habitual use of interjections or exclamations before commenting on everything and anything.  Aunt Essy of the "Oy" always seems exasperated.  Aunt Chanah is the champion of "Feh", ever contemptuous.  And Uncle Sam's indifference is clear from his favourite interjection, "So?"  

Anticipating no deviation from their relatives' same-speak ("Do you think they'll say something different today?" my sister asked.  "Not a chance," my brother answered.), the three children in the household hatch a plan of multiple role-plays to flabbergast some new vocabulary out of their aunts and uncle.  But, it's not until the kids go overboard and shamelessly mimic their three relatives that Aunt Essy, Aunt Chanah and Uncle Sam discover their own farcical natures and begin to speak freely and uncharacteristically.

Gary Clement's ink-and-watercolour illustrations of Aunts Essy and Chanah and Uncle Sam bring out the boring attributes of all us older relatives: less than trendy eyeglasses, an unwelcome paunch, out-moded hairstyles, double chins and clothing lacking in style.  The details in the faces and hair and attire may be different, but they are the relatives we were all encouraged (forced?) to embrace and chat up because they were family.  And, if we were lucky, as the three children in Oy Feh So? are, we saw beyond the façade of their drudgery and stale vocabulary and glimpsed the fun-loving children they once were and now were willing to share with us.  This collaboration between Cary Fagan and Gary Clement is priceless in allowing us to see ourselves in the story, and hopefully recognize that it's up to us to help change those Sunday visits from doom to delight.  Oy!