Hi Friends,
Glad you joined us today to listen to a short story from a collection, Funny Girl: Funniest. Stories. EVER. edited by Betsy Bird.
Did you have a few laughs? I hope so:)
Audience is the person or people who get the joy of hearing your jokes. It is important to know your audience, or "read the room." That means, you don't necessarily want to talk about how much you love peanut butter & nutella sandwiches with a room full of kids with nut allergies. Be sensitive to how your words can affect others becasue *jokes* aren't funny when they hurt or exclude someone.
First things first, I'm sure you are *dying* to see the Charlie Chaplin Dancing Rolls video referenced in the story...super fun stuff, made in the early days before movies had sound! (Or you can watch the Peewee Herman breakfast )
Think back to a favorite story or joke you have heard. What made it successful? The authors state "It wasn't the greatest joke ever told but everyone in the room cracked up! Here's why: timing, observation & surprise." Look back at the Dancing Rolls clip; how did Chaplin utilize these three things?
The authors use the word ironic (page 7) "Maybe mention your hip problems." Irony is something that happens in the opposite way expected. In this case it would be ironic for a kid to have hip problems because we are assuming that the kid telling the joke has healthy, young hips while their audience of older people might have developed some joint pain. Got it? Take some time to think about something funny that happened to you. can you think of a way to use irony in the telling/writing of the story to make it even funnier?
The authors of the story are sisters. Bookkitty thinks that it is really interesting to consider how sometimes it is easier to collaborate & how other times it can be really difficult to work with someone else. Try to make some time this week to read out loud to someone (it can be your dog or cat, Google Chat with a teacher or grandparent, or someone who lives with you). Remember to use funny voices & read with expression---practice helps you to feel more confident. That was the number one advice we get from the authors of the story: just be confident to be yourself & the rest will fall in place.
Toodleloo, Kangaroos
p.s. Guaranteed to make an adult smile: offer to help make dinner sometime this week. Here's a recipe to try: Tuna Noodle Casserole.
Today's book:
Funny Girl: Funniest. Stories. EVER. edited by Betsy Bird.
Thanks to Pexels contributers for providing awesome video clips.