Humor needs to play an important part in reading with youngsters. One graphic picturebook which should guarantee a chuckle or two, maybe even a giggle or four is TWO BAD PILGRIMS by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by John Manders (Viking, 2009, $16.99).
This text, while loaded with good information about the Pilgrims and the settlement at Plymouth Rock, has a counterpoint delivered by two young scamps. Their outlook and outtake on events is pretty funny. They almost desensitize the reader making ones’ memory of historical accounts seem in a way maybe more real. For example, in the construction of the communal meeting house where everybody assisted, one of the young scamps says,”Hey, this is the new world. Aren’t there child labor laws?” These asides to the reader from these BAD pilgrims make the text quite funny and helps question our memories from history lessons past.