Just Joking!

Two paperback collections of gross-out tales from the author of The Day My Butt Went Psycho! should tickle readers' funny bones: Just Joking! and Just Annoying! by Andy Griffiths, illus. by Terry Denton. In the first, young Andy attempts an array of practical jokes, from pretending to be dead (in order to avoid school) to smearing fake vomit on himself to get a solo seat on an airplane. The second includes far-fetched stories about transvestitism at the school dance (to mimic and annoy his sister) and about dinnertime discussions over whether it is preferable to be eaten by ants or lions. Denton's scribbled pen illustrations fill up the margins on every page, with jokes, bizarre flip book animations and other absurdities.