Book Review

I am halfway threw a joke book called “Awesome Good Clean Jokes For Kids” by Bob Phillips. How nice I thought, a book of jokes that kids can tell each other or maybe a parent can use for an icebreaker at a function that involves kids. But then I read the, all rights reserved statement.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

So as I understand it as long as I write a book review I can use some brief quotations.

My review of “Awesome Good Clean Jokes For Kids” by Bob Phillips. You’ll laugh and laugh at the wit and humor. I own a copy .

Now to what I really wanted to say, sometimes humor is in the eyes of the beholder and something that I found funny in this book was the strait man lines.

Funny Man: Why did the bla-bla-bla do whatever?
Strait Man: I don’t know.
Funny Man: because bla-bla-bla had to whatever

Many writers would just use I don’t know over and over again but not, Bob Phillips, he give the strait man a new line for every joke in the chapter.

Here are the strait man lines in chapter 1.

I have no clue.
I have no idea.
I give up.
Who knows?
You’ve got me.
That’s a mystery.
I’m blank.
I don’t have the foggiest.
It’s unknown to me.
I’m in the dark.
Search me.
You’ve got me guessing.
I pass.
How should I know?
I don’t know. (Used two times in Chapter 1.)

If you find yourself always with a group of people that has a joke teller that requires a strait man line, make a list and keep them in your wallet. Then you can have a variety to choose from. In that way you can be more then just a person that says, “Dah, I don’t know.”

But if you are with a group of people with a well known bad joke teller in it I would yell, “wait a minute”, and make a big show of getting my wallet out and then read every one of the lines on my list none stop. This might get a laugh all by its self and stop the joke teller from telling more bad jokes. For an added flourish when he starts to answer the joke yell, “Wait a minute” and turn over the card and read another list of strait man lines.

Hopefully I have not broken any “All rights reserved” laws. But if I have I’m sorry and in way of penitence ask you all to please by this book or any other book by Bob Phillips.