In the Coop with Dori Chaconas

Author Dori Chaconas won our fluffy hearts long ago with sweet, comforting picture books like On a Wintry Morning, One Little Mouse, and Christmas Mouseling. More recently she's been showing off her silly streak with When Cows Come Home for Christmas, Cork and Fuzz, and our personal favorite (for obvious reasons), Coriander the Contrary Hen. Silly or sweet, Dori's books are a treat and so is she! We are honored to have her with us in the coop today.

How do you know when what you write is funny?

I'm never absolutely sure, but when a piece of dialogue or scene comes into my head and cracks me up, I feel pretty confident it's funny. That's why I write in private. It's embarrassing to sit in a quiet coffee shop and suddenly bark a loud guffaw. But it's only when I read the material aloud to someone else that I know if the material is honestly funny or if it only appeals to my misguided sense of humor.

Do you have any tips for writing funny books?

For me, humor is magnified when it takes place in a non-humorous situation. If every line in a story is a funny one, the whole thing feels diluted because the funny lines compete against each other. But if you can have a handful of funny lines or situations scattered throughout a story that has some serious or soft tones, the humor stands out like a giggle during a stuffy speech. Comic relief.

Has being funny ever gotten you into or out of trouble?

I can't think of a single example of one or the other. I've never been considered a funny person, but that's mainly because what people see of my controlled outside doesn't necessarily let on to the silliness that's inside. But I have a few friends who know me to the core, and when we're together, I can get them laughing pretty hard, often helped along by a bottle or two of wine. So there you have it. I'm a straight-faced, wine drinking humorist.

What are some of your favorite funny books?

I love Sara Pennypacker's CLEMENTINE, and Peggy Rathman's OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA. I love anything by Lisa Wheeler. My classic favorites are A. A. Milne's WINNIE THE POOH books – 'the bear of little brain.' There's a sweet innocence about Pooh and his friends, and I love the illogical way in which they think and speak.

If you could live in one of your books, which one would you choose?

Probably the Cork and Fuzz books. Their world is practically ideal. They have no parents telling them what to do or how to behave. They don't have to work for a living, or pay bills. They don't have to bother with shaving their legs or putting on makeup. They always seem to have plenty to eat. The biggest problems they face are dealing with each other. Sounds good to me.

Who do you like more, The Marx Bros or Three Stooges?

Hmmmm… Can I pick the Smother's Brothers? I prefer whacky humor to slappy humor.

What was your best Halloween costume?

Several years ago I worked the reception desk at a busy health clinic and the staff was encouraged to wear costumes on Halloween. I decided not to go in costume, but to go incognito –like a detective who disguises himself to look like a different person. I borrowed my mom's polyester zig-zag print dress, which was much too short, but so perfect because you could see the hem of my slip and the tops of my knee highs. I wore a wig, reshaped my lips with too-red lipstick and my eyebrows with too-black pencil. After a little more makeup work, no one—not even my closest co-workers—recognized me.

The thing I never expected was that when you look like a person with no sense of fashion, no idea how to apply makeup, and are not even close to being attractive, people avoid eye contact with you. I must have checked in over 100 people that day, and NOT ONE person would look me straight in the eye. I looked too weird—too ugly. By the end of the day I felt invisible, as if I didn't exist, I didn't belong in their pretty world, and I didn't matter as a person.

Sometimes a thing can start out funny and end up sad.

What is your Dream Job for a Day?

I'd work for the City Planning Department and be the person who named all the new streets. Not tired, safe names like Maple Lane or Elm Street, nor after aunts and uncles, like Louie Lane or Betty Ann Boulevard. I'd make up names like Kerfuffle Court, and Squeegee Square. But my identity would have to be kept secret or those people who had to live on those streets would be out to get me.

Clown V. Mime Deathmatch. Pick your winner.

Definitely a mime. A clown is too 'in your face.' A mime draws the audience into the act by making them use their imaginations to figure out what the heck he's doing.

Funniest dead person you'd like to meet?

I haven't met a funny dead person yet.

You've written stories featuring a host of funny critters (muskrat, possum, hen, cows, etc.). Which creature from the Animal Kingdom do you most identify with?

The creature I would most like to be identified with is the tiger, for its beauty, grace, and sense of power. But more appropriately, I'd probably be identified with the ostrich. I don't like conflict and sometimes wish I could bury my head in the sand until the conflict went away. But then that would put me in an embarrassing position of having my fat butt stick up in the air.

I'll have to rethink this one.

In the Coop with Aaron Reynolds

Aaron Reynolds is the author of one of our favorite funny picture books, Chicks and Salsa (Bloomsbury), and the upcoming sequel, Buffalo Wings. Both are illustrated by Paulette Bogan. Aaron is also the author of the Tiger Moth graphic novel series (Stone Arch Books) and many fabulous and funny future picture books.

Break out the chips and salsa and let's Cha Cha!

How do you know when what you write is funny?

Well, there’s four kinds of funny. There’s funny-but-not-funny-enough-to-actually-laugh funny, there’s laugh-inside-my-head funny, there’s laugh-out-loud funny, and there’s laugh-so-hard-that-you-accidentally-fart funny. If my writing makes me do one of the last two, then I figure I’m on the right track.

Do you have any tips for writing funny books?

Extremes are funny. I have to constantly push myself to take a funny idea further. In Chicks and Salsa, I started out with gourmet chickens who make salsa. But it wasn’t until I added connoisseur ducks making guacamole and pigs whipping up nachos that the story started getting funny. And the ending wasn’t working until I took the whole thing the next level with the foodie farm animals. When the rooster ditches the whole thing to cook French crepes…that’s when humor finally felt like it paid off. When you come up with a funny idea, imagine the farthest you could possibly take it…and then take it one step farther. Chances are, that’s when you’ll have something really worth laughing at.

Has being funny ever gotten you into or out of trouble?

I remember at Boy Scout camp once, I was the ring-leader in tying our Scout Master to his cot while he was sleeping in it (we did it with belts, by the way). Then we bodily lifted his cot, with his prone sleeping form still in it, and dumped him in the lake. Seemed like a funny idea at the time. He didn’t think so. I may have lost a merit badge or two over that incident.

What are some of your favorite funny books?

There’s books that are “ha-ha” funny like The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathman, the Babymouse books by Jennifer and Matthew Holm, Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler, Ka-Pow by George O’Connor, and anything by Jon Scieszka. Then there’s books that are dark and weird and goofy funny, like Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders, Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales, and The Day I Traded my Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman. I’m a huge fan of both.

If you could live in one of your books, which one would you choose?

I’d probably pick my newest book, a graphic novel series called Tiger Moth, Insect Ninja. Eric Lervold, who illustrated it, has created a weird and wonderful world where the bugs are very humanized, yet very buggy, and the colors are wild and vivid. Not to mention, there’s no shortage of humor, action, and a whole lot of HI-YAH! Every boy’s dream.

Who do you like more, The Marx Bros or Three Stooges?

I have to confess, I’m really too young to like either. Sorry about that. Even The Little Rascals, I only saw in re-runs. In lieu of that, I’ll pick Ginger as my favorite Gilligan’s Island castaway, Marcia as my favorite Brady Bunch member, Daisy as my favorite Duke of Hazzard, (see a pattern anywhere in my hormone-induced adolescence?) and The Donny and Marie show over Sonny and Cher as my favorite lame variety show.

What was your best Halloween costume?

Has to be the year I went as Ponch from CHiPs. It was cold out that year, so my mom made me wear my coat over my plastic jump-suit-with-the-outfit-printed-on-the-front costume. Luckily, I had a bomber jacket that year, so I looked even more Ponch-esque than I would’ve without it. But, bummer of bummers, the elastic band from my mask came loose from it’s staple halfway through the night, so I had to hold it in place with my hand. This limited maximum candy-scoring-potential significantly. But still…who was cooler than Ponch?

What is your Dream Job for a Day?

I’m doin’ it, you silly chicks.

In the Coop with Lisa Wheeler

A Three Silly Chicks Interview

Lisa Wheeler is the witty, charming and much-loved author of SEADOGS (illustrated by Mark Siegel), SAILOR MOO (illustrated by Ponder Goembel), and many other funny books for kids!

How do you know when what you write is funny?

I write what makes me laugh. If it cracks me up, it’ll probably crack up a 6 year-old. I’m not that complex.

Do you have any tips for writing funny books?

Use comedic timing. Don’t belabor the point. Think of how a standup comic uses timing to tell a joke. You have to get in and out of a joke while it’s still funny. Check out Turk And Runt. I think it is a good example of comedic timing in a picture book.

Has being funny ever gotten you into or out of trouble?

I’m not funny enough to create such an impact. But being too serious has caused its share of headaches.

What are some of your favorite funny books?

Mr. Wolf’s Pancakes, The Scrambled States of America, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, all the Junie B. Jones books, There Was An Old Woman, The Captain Underpants series, Bark, George!,.. I could go on and on. But my bookcase is in my daughter’s room and she’s still sleeping (plus, it looks like a bomb hit her room). These are the titles you get off the top of my head.

If you could live in one of your books, which one would you choose?

Just one? I suppose I’d pick Sailor Moo. Not only did she get to go to sea (I love the ocean!), she also ended up living on the beach and meeting the bull of her dreams. What a great life!

Who do you like more, The Marx Bros or Three Stooges?

I pick the Stooges because I’ve seen more of their movies, and I do a wicked Curly Shuffle. Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck.

What was your best Halloween costume?

A cat costume my mom made when I was a kid. It was made out of a faux fur sofa cover and had a huge paper mache’ head with glow-in-the-dark eyes. I couldn’t see a thing out the eye-holes. It was great!

What is your Dream Job For a Day?

Pop star diva. Like, maybe Janet Jackson. I wish I could sing, dance and look gorgeous all at the same time. (But I'll keep my own brothers, thank-you-very-much.)

Clown V. Mime Deathmatch. Pick your winner.

Hmmmmm…tough call. Clowns are inherently evil, and yet mimes need to die. Someone has to lose, but a mime is a terrible thing to waste.

Funniest dead person you’d like to meet?

Gilda Radnor. Her SNL characters are so memorable and hysterical. I'd just like to say Thanks for the laughs.

In the Coop with Jessica Swaim

Today we are forgoing our usual cluck-cluck-clucking to give up a mighty AH-ROOOO in honor of our guest, Jessica Swaim , author of that dog-gone hilarious book, Hound from the Pound. She also has the world's best bio:

"Short-haired and feisty, Jessica Swaim is part Jack Russell terrier, so is it any wonder that every book she writes has a dog or dog relative (fox, werewolf, etc.) in it? Jessica's favorite activities include long walks on a loose leash, napping in front of the fire, and rolling belly-up in the grass. When irritated, she yips at the top of her lungs and has been known to bite the mailman for delivering rejection letters. When Jessica jumps the fence in search of adventure, she invariably finds it, but the best part is always coming back home."

Without further ah-roos and ado, onward to the interview!

How do you know when what you write is funny?

I write to amuse myself, which is a pretty simple task.

Do you have any tips for writing funny books?

Not a one. Do you?

Has being funny ever gotten you into or out of trouble?

No. But lying has.

What are some of your favorite funny books?

Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
anything by Lisa Wheeler
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

If you could live in one of your books, which one would you choose?

Since my most brilliant books are not yet published, I would choose The Hound From the Pound. It's a fantasy of mine to be owned by an unlimited number of dogs and not get arrested.

Do you prefer the Marx Bros or Three Stooges?

Monty Python, please.

What was your best Halloween costume ever?

When I was in first grade, my mom made me a little Red Riding Hood costume. The red crepe paper cape lasted slightly longer than the basket of cookies.

What is your Dream Job for a day?

It's a toss-up between dog trainer on a movie set or taste tester at the Cadbury chocolate factory.

Clown v. mime deathmatch. Pick your winner.

My father always said, "You can't run a circus without clowns," so I'd let the clown win. At least the mime would suffer silently.

Funniest dead person you'd like to meet.

Mark Twain, who said, "Be good and you will be lonesome."

BONUS QUESTION: What is your favorite funny dog breed?

Wiener dog. Love those faces, love those buns.

In the Coop with Kelly DiPucchio

Kelly DiPucchio is the author of some of our favorite funny picture books, like Bed Hogs, Dinosnores, and Mrs. McBloom Clean Up Your Classroom! She is smart, funny, skinny and blond, and yet for some strange reason we still adore her. We are hoping that her character Grace from her upcoming book Grace for President is elected when she grows up.

www.kellydipucchio.com

How do you know when what you write is funny?

When my dog laughs. And usually after I’ve written something that totally cracks me up I can’t wait to call my husband at work to remind him just how funny I really am.

Do you have any tips for writing funny books?

Shy away from certain topics like nursing homes, flesh eating bacteria, and dying family pets. Sure, just the right combination of all three could be downright hysterical, but on their own, not so much.

You should also remember who your audience is. Have you ever had a 5-year old tell you a joke? They usually go something like this, What did one French fry say to the other French Fry? Hey! We’re both French fries! I’m not suggesting that as children’s writers we have to completely dumb down our humor, but I’ve come to learn over the years that sometimes simple really is better.

Has being funny ever gotten you into or out of trouble?

My parole officer could probably answer that question better than I can.

What are some of your favorite funny books?

Just how far down can this page scroll?

MY LITTLE SISTER ATE ONE HARE by Bill Grossman, THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A BOOT and MRS. BIDDLEBOX by Linda Smith, MEET WILD BOARS by Meg Rosoff, LEONARDO, THE TERRIBLE MONSTER by Mo Willems, JUNIE B. JONES by Barbara Park , and pretty much anything by Jon Scieszka, Lemony Snicket, Lisa Wheeler, Carolyn Crimi, Margie Palatini, Mike Reiss, Lauren Child, M.T. Anderson, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Edward Gorey, and Beverly Cleary.

If you could live in one of your books, which one would you choose?

Hmm…probably not BED HOGS. That story takes place in a pig sty. Mrs. McBloom’s cluttered classroom already strikes an eerie resemblance to my home. I’d have to say, LIBERTY’S JOURNEY because that book features New York City and San Francisco.

Who do you like more, The Marx Bros or Three Stooges?

Call me a knucklehead, but I’m really more of an Abbott and Costello kind of gal.

What was your best Halloween costume?

If you must know, I’m a costume curmudgeon. I’m just one step away from wearing one of those lame THIS IS MY COSTUME t-shirts. The funny thing is, I so love and appreciate the clever and creative costumes that other people create. I’m just not a very crafty person so you can pretty much count me out of anything that involves a hot glue gun and a trip to the fabric store.

However, one year, when Martha Stewart was in prison, I did show up to a Halloween party wearing prison stripes and I brought a tray of pretty pink cupcakes that were decorated with cute little nail files. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to eat the pretty cupcakes because, as it turns out, nail files in pink baked goods just don’t scream, Yum!

What is your Dream Job for a Day?

That’s easy. I would be a Fairy Godmother. Does that count as a job? Just think how much fun it would be to go around granting wishes for people all day long!

If I absolutely had to pick a dream job that was a little more grounded in reality, I would probably choose to be a landscape photographer on location in Hawaii.

Clown V. Mime Deathmatch. Pick your winner.

Mime. He’s a silent killer.

Funniest dead person you'd like to meet?

Funny or not, I’m not so sure I want to meet any dead people.

If you could create your own TV show, what would it be about?

I’d create a new reality TV show called SO YOU THINK YOU CAN ACT.

The show would track the lives of several children’s book authors who go on Hollywood auditions, informing influential casting directors that they are qualified and entitled to star in feature roles on television and in film because they write books for kids.

Heh-heh-heh.

Crowing from the Rooftop...

...to congratulate two of our all-time favorite writer chicks, whom we adore as much in person as we do on the page:

Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, winner of the Schneider Family Award for Reaching for Sun; and

Lisa Wheeler, winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award for Jazz Baby! (Read our interview with Lisa here.)

And let us not forget our double duty man Mo Willems, who pulled down a Caldecott Honor Award for Knuffle Bunny Too and the Geisel Award for There Is a Bird on Your Head! (Read our interview with Mo here.)

We are celebrating with a grand party here in the coop, complete with kazoos, whoopie cushions, eggsploding won tons, and a posse of Shriner guys in little cars and fezzes.

Three cheers for Tracie, Lisa, Mo, and all the 2008 ALA Award winners!

Quick Chick Picks: Thanksgiving

Let's face it: Thanksgiving can be stressful for a chick. Not only must you dine WITH your fowl relations, but you must dine UPON one as well. And if that's not enough to unglue you, there's the dreaded "day after" when you can't help but gaze upon your tail feather region and contemplate the wicked 1:1 ratio of stuffing consumed to the stuffing now heaped in your trunk.

Here in the coop we have two coping mechanisms to deal with Turkey Trouble:

1. Skip town and head to Vegas; or
2. Laugh your way through it (nervous laughter is better than no laughter at all).

Herewith, some book recommendations to help you with that last part:

Turk and Runt: A Thanksgiving Comedy, by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Ansley, Atheneum, ISBN 978-0689847615. Young Runt hatches a grade-A plan to save his feather-brained sibling from the carving knife.

The Ugly Pumpkin, by Dave Horowitz, Putnam, ISBN 0399242678. An ugly duckling story with a hilarious twist and a perfect Thanksgiving message.

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, by Alison Jackson, illustrated by Judith Byron Schachner, Dutton, ISBN 978-0525456452. A cautionary tale for the overly ambitious eaters among us.

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving, by Dav Pilkey, Scholastic, ISBN 978-0531059050. Classic Dav Pilkey. Need we say more?

Run, Turkey, Run!, by Diane Mayr, illustrated by Laura Rader, Walker Books, ISBN 978-0802796301. A fun read-aloud with a happy, grilled-cheese sandwich ending sure to please vegetarians and turkey lovers alike!

A Celebration and a Contest, too!

What's going on?

The Three Silly Chicks are fluffin' up our feathers, cleaning off our glasses, breaking out the tortilla chips, and getting ready to celebrate!

"Why?" you ask. "Because," we answer, "our anniversary is almost here!"

We began our blog on September 14, 2006 and what a year!

We've read so many great & funny books and interviewed some of our favorite funny writers and illustrators: Lisa Wheeler, Lisa Yee, Aaron Reynolds, Cyn & Greg Leitich Smith, Kevin O'Malley, Esme Codell, David Lubar, Kara & Jenna LaReau, John Manders, Dori Chaconas, Margie Palatini, Kelly DiPucchio!

Interviewing fantastic, funny people is our favorite thing (next to bean dip), so we can't wait to interview more fantastic, funny people!

But first, we feel like having a party and nothing puts us in the party mood faster than bean dip! Sadly, nothing ends a party in a small coop faster than bean dip.

So we're going to have a contest, instead! And here it is:

Mystery Guest

Are you ready for our Mystery Guest?

1. Contest begins NOW!
2. Guess the secret identity of our Mystery Guest! (Click on "comments" down below to leave your guess.)
3. All correct guesses will be entered in a drawing for the grand prize*
4. Grand prize winner will be announced on September 14!
5. First five entries will win a Chick Magnet**
6. First Clue: Our Mystery Guest is bigger than a bread box

* Grand Prize is one of the following:

• A vat of bean dip
• An emu
• An emu in a vat of bean dip
• A super-duper-bag-o'-goodness from the Three Silly Chicks. Bag includes autographed copies of books by Andrea Beaty, Carolyn Crimi, and Julia Durango. Also includes assorted items from our drawer of silliness (not to be confused with our silly drawers as shown here.)

** Chick magnets are not guaranteed to attract chicks, hot babes, hot Emus or hot tamales. May present a choking hazard to Emu, ostriches, and other humorously large birds. Chick magnets are guaranteed to look extremely cute and hold scraps of paper on your refrigerator door so you can ignore them while searching for bean dip.