Humor Books

Goats on a printed page. who wouldve thunk it? For long time fans, and people who have never even heard of goats, if you think you have a twisted sense of humor, then goats is for you.

please, please, please... read this book.

As I am somewhat of a Goat-head (not in the pagan sense), I am a bit bias to this book. However, a scant 6 months ago, I did not have any idea about Goats. I spend 3 weeks reading the archive (which I recommend to anyone - great stuff out there). The Book, the fourth in a series of one, is a great primer, and will give people hours and hours of enjoyment. Check out the site!...! You'll thank me later.

Jon Rosenberg's Goats can't fail to raise a smile from these jaded lips when I read it online, so a book with hundreds of those self-same strips is just the thing to see you through the long ,dark winter. Pert, pertinent character comedy, surrealism and pure sexy fun make this a must-have. If you liked Bloom County, this is for you. If you like Fred Bassett, it might just take the top of your head off. Superb.

The cover of this book alone cracks me up as does much of the content inside. "Goats" is a non-syndicated web comic strip done by Jonathan Rosenberg. This strip came to my attention when Jonathan first started it and asked me to throw him a link (my site being all about comic strips). "Goats" is a surreal strip about two male best friends Jon and Philip, their talking pet goat Toothgnip, and their evil talking pet chicken Diablo. There are also aliens, beer, women, beer, dwarves, beer, zombies, beer, and more beer.

This book is the first "Goats" book despite the fact that it is called "Volume 4". However, Jonathan has promised to follow George Lucas's footsteps and release the prequels soon ("Volume 3" will be out soon). This book covers strips from January 2000 to December 2000. The significant event of this book is that Jon (who is a loser when it comes to women) finally gets a girlfriend named Megan. She's a hottie and totally with it that makes you wonder if it isn't pity love. Ah, but if it weren't for pity, many of us would be in a world of hurt!

Bottom line, this is a pretty funny comic strip but it is NOT for the kids (in my opinion). The humor and content can often shift into the "R" range so you've been warned. Otherwise, get this book and help a web cartoonist!

Fantastic. Magnificent. Compelling, original and satyrical, a must have for any Gen-Xer's Ikea mail-ordered coffee table or the floor of the bohemian studio apartment in the parent's basement. Bringing together issues of single-life, animal rights, alien invasions, sexual dysfunction, and sado-masochism this hilarious book filled with wit and slapstick compiles the Goats comic strip for the year 2000. Not only are the comics a poignant commentary on everyday-life, through trips into the surreal they speak volumes on social issues of the day. Through the innocence of some characters and the wickedness of others, the entire gamut of human emotion is displayed among the denziens of a specific New York pub. This book makes a fantastic gift for those who've never heard of Goats and enjoy quality, edgy humor.

I grew up with Mike in rural Michigan. We were both two young carefree lads exploring both the countryside and our emerging sexuality together. It was during the summer of 1952, cuddled up in my grandfathers old barn, that I first told Mike about the Internet and the humor that lied within. He promised me he would never tell anyone about our secret. And with that, he sealed his promise with a kiss. Mike not only stole my virginity that year, he stole my idea for The Best of Dot Com Humor.

Today I am a broken man because of this. Alone, afraid to love, afraid to laugh.

Michael L Turnbull's approach to humor and its value in our lives is second to none! This is a must have book for the young at heart who enjoy a good chuckle. I am sending it to all of my friends.

I will never forget it. I was dumbfounded. There I stood in line at my local bookstore, holding in my hands a volume authored by the rather overestimated Greek poet Silius Italicus (clearly not the book for which I had come) when who should stride through the front door but a person wishing to return Michael L. Turnbull's THE BEST OF DOTCOM HUMOR.

I was flummoxed.

The very idea that someone, after having gotten his hands on such a rare gem, would want to return this comprehensive tome for a quantity so ephemeral as Store Credit was beyond my comprehension.

As is typically the case in scenarios such as these, the man who didn't like Michael L. Turnbull's opus was exceedingly ugly. Hideous, in fact. I have made lengthy study of people who return Great Works, and my results are uncanny: the greater the genius behind the manuscript, the more unsightly the chap who failed to obtain satisfaction from it. It is rumored that the only person ever to have returned Mark Twain had three perfectly formed fingers protruding from his left collarbone. Well this fellow must have made that one look like Lorenzo Lamas. With his pest-ridden mop mashed down over asymmetric eyebrows, he aimed his cloudy pupils in disparate directions as he dragged his clubbed foot up to the counter. The woman next to me started to make gagging sounds when all of us got a view of his nostrils, which were grossly disproportionate in size. Meanwhile he wheeled around in my direction, came to a halt in front of me, parted his moist mouth, and exhaled, reminding me of the time in my life when I lived next door to a yeast factory. The old bird next to me dropped to the floor like a sack of canned hams, creating just the diversion I needed to pinch the book, race to the opposite end of the store, and purchase it at the alternate register.

I can assure you that I have been laughing ever since. BUY THIS BOOK!

I will never forget it. I was dumbfounded. There I stood in line at my local bookstore, holding in my hands a volume authored by the rather overestimated Greek poet Silius Italicus (clearly not the book for which I had come) when who should stride through the front door but a person wishing to return Michael L. Turnbull's THE BEST OF DOTCOM HUMOR.

I was flummoxed.

The very idea that someone, after having gotten his hands on such a rare gem, would want to return this comprehensive tome for a quantity so ephemeral as Store Credit was beyond my comprehension.

As is typically the case in scenarios such as these, the man who didn't like Michael L. Turnbull's opus was exceedingly ugly. Hideous, in fact. I have made lengthy study of people who return Great Works, and my results are uncanny: the greater the genius behind the manuscript, the more unsightly the chap who failed to obtain satisfaction from it. It is rumored that the only person ever to have returned Mark Twain had three perfectly formed fingers protruding from his left collarbone. Well, this fellow must have made that one look like Lorenzo Lamas. With his pest-ridden mop mashed down over assymetric eyebrows, he aimed his eyes in disparate directions as he dragged his clubbed foot up to the counter. The woman to my right started to make gagging sounds when all of us got a view of his nostrils, which were grossly disproportionate in size. Meanwhile he wheeled around in my direction, came to a halt in front of me, parted his moist mouth, and exhaled, reminding me of the time in my life when I lived next door to a yeast factory. The old bird next to me dropped to the floor like a sack of canned hams, creating just the diversion I needed to pinch the book, race to the opposite end of the store, and purchase it at the alternate register.

I can assure you that I have been laughing ever since. BUY THIS BOOK!

WHEN ONE THINKS OF GREAT LITERATURE, SOME MAY THINK SHAKESPEARE, WHILE OTHERS DREAM OF HEMINGWAY. HOWEVER, I THINK THAT MICHAEL L. TURNBULL'S ''THE BEST OF DOT COM HUMOR" TOWERS OVER THEM ALL. I FIRST RECEIVED A COPY OF MICHAEL'S BOOK WHILE SERVING TEN YEARS AT RIKER'S ISLAND FOR PETTY LARCENCY AND INDECENT EXPOSURE. I WOULD PASS THE TIME BETWEEN WEEKLY STABBINGS AND BRUTAL SHOWER ATTACKS BY LAUGHING MY HEAD OFF TO THE INSANITY THAT IS MICHAEL L. TURNBULL'S "THE BEST OF DOT COM HUMOR. DOES IT GET ANY BETTER? I SURE HOPE NOT, BECAUSE IF THERE WAS ANYTHING FUNNIER THAN MICHAEL L. TURNBULL'S "THE BEST OF DOT COM", MY BOWELS JUST COULDN'T TAKE IT.

Before there was Monty Python, there was Myles. He was by far the crankiest, most learned and original comic genius of 20th-century English prose; there's simply nothing else like him. (Well, maybe there are 3 or 4 moments in "Duck Soup" that are like him.) And when you realize that this is the same guy who, under a different name, wrote "At Swim-Two-Birds" (one of the five or so funny novels for whose sake the Lord does not destroy the Earth)-- well, it's time to just surrender and enjoy.

Plus, the current Dalkey Archive edition (the publisher's name is itself a Myles reference) is handsomely made... good-quality paper and so on, don't you know. It makes a difference.

Mise, le mas, ....

A friend lent me his copy (an Irish edition) of this book five or more years ago, and I've been searching for my own copy ever since. I'm delighted to find it's been reprinted and I just placed my order.

I envy anyone who has not yet read this book of collected columns and essays -- the outrageous details of the Ventriloquists' War, the intricacies of the Catechism of Cliche, and the wisdom of the Brother all await your delighted discovery.

Have a blast.

Good humour is something everybody likes and I yearn for. For quite a long time I thought that there could hardly be anything better, or at least as good as Ephraim Kishon's short satires or Douglas Adams' space phantasmagories. It was hard even to imagine something like that because I was sure my stomach would disintegrate after something like that. And than I ran into Flann O'Brien's The Best of Myles. Indeed, that was the first time for me to get familiar with him and certainly the best possible. His columns are far than hillarious, obviously because he plays with things we consider as common, everyday problems, and maybe not even problems. All the wild thoughts one could get in moments of being very bored O'Brien would write down and bring to their final reductio ad absurdum. He wouldn't wait to be stopped, he would just carry on scribbling complete nonsense, dipping even into some other languages like Latin or Gaelic in a wild rage of an admirable inspiration.
Yes, one more thing that admire him for. He would deal with Gaelic and even write in it, he would mock with politics and politicians, with history and society and even so, he managed to stay completely non-political. At least he left his columns that way. The Best of Myles is best to read before his longer and more ambitious works like The Third Policeman or At Swim-Two-Birds. And also after them.

this compilation contains, without qualification, THE funniest writing of the twentieth century, so it seems churlish to list complaints. Some of these are unavoidably the nature of the material - Myles na Gopaleen wrote a regular column for an Irish newspaper for a quarter of a century, so the very local concerns discussed in some of the pieces render them impenetrable to all but Irish historians.

The biggest problem is with the editing, or lack thereof. There are no explanatory notes offering historical, social or political context; there are no translatoins of the many German, Latin, Irish etc. interpellations. One could argue that this leaves us in the same position as those first newspaper readers, but Myles' predominantly middle-class audience could boast a sound classical education and a greater familiarity with the allusions so liberally scattered here than we do today.

Finally, the decision not to print the pieces chronologically (none of them are dated), but by subject, distorts the work, handicaps its versatility and can lead to repetition and tedium.

That 'the Best of Myles' remains one of the last century's few genuinely important books is entirely due to the indestructible persona(e) of Myles himself, hypercultured, alcoholic, visionary verbal contortionist with pretensions to aristocratic heritage. His phlegmatic invective at local problems such as sewage systems and the civil service are less valuable than his assault on language as it had (has?) degenerated into cliche and received opinion in the culturally sterile Ireland of the 1940s and 50s; and in his post-modern project of demolishing hierarchies of linguistic and artistic endeavour. Reading Myles has a bracing effect - he forces you out of habitual mental laziness; forces you to think HARDER.

Flann O'Brian is absolutely one of the greatest practitioners of language. This collection of his work, "The Best Of Myles", is some of the finest writing I have ever had the pleasure to read. Gaelic, English, French, German, and Latin, are 5 languages he writes fluently. He is the personification of all that is famous of Irish Wit. There appear to be few topics he did not comment upon or release a withering appraisal with pinpoint precision.

Mr. O'Brian wrote for a daily newspaper until his death in 1966. The volume and quality of the written material he produced is amazing. This 400-page book is one of five that are available and that I intend to read. There is virtually nothing about his personal history in this volume, so hopefully there is a biography in print documenting the time he spent learning and practicing his craft. The only downside to this book is that some is in Gaelic with no translation, and there are many articles that will seem to exist in isolation if the reader does not have some knowledge of Irish History. Even if these commentaries were removed, the balance of the work would still be a remarkable literary performance.

Some of the best pieces were his comments on the affectation in so many facets of daily life. And his specific attacks on, "bores", and all the pretensions of the world of modern art, and those who would pretend to posses knowledge of which they are bereft. He creates institutes and foundations and companies dedicated to servicing frauds and exposing the truth. Much is for pure fun, but like all humor contains truth. He offers the services of a company that will come to the home of any illiterate with a library, and his people will either rummage through your books for a pittance, or for a more substantial sum, will dog-ear pages, write brilliant marginalia, and leave tickets and programs to various cultural events as though they were misplaced bookmarks. And for those who have the funds, books will receive forged inscriptions from their authors, and letters of thanks to the book's owner for their help with a particularly difficult passage.

This book came at the end of 2001 for me. I hate lists of the best of the year; however nothing I have read this year surpasses this book, absolutely nothing!

Like the first 'Zits' treasury, this book will provide you with a lot of laughs, and you will probably want to return to reread the strips again in the future. I enjoyed this book immensely and plowed right through it in two sittings, even though I had planned to stretch it out over a week.

My one quibble with the book is that several of the strips are exact duplicates of strips from the first treasury.

If you have or have had teenagers, you need to red Zits. The adventures of all the characters will keep you laughing. They even manage to capture the angst of both parents and teens.

I evaluate funnies by the drawings, and, of course, is it funny or not? With that said, here we go.

In some ways, I think this comic is influenced by Calvin and Hobbes, one of the most memorable and classic strips. This comic strip is drowned in sarcasm and irony. The drawings have a sort of sketchy quality about them, something that makes them loose and very cool-looking. They have shading and scribbly detail, but are still very clear and easy to understand.

It has more than 4 characters, allowing the cartoonist to come up with many interesting character traits. Exploring these personalities is very fun to read. A boy and a girl never seen not hugging each other, a mom, a dad, a big brother, and a boy with a guitar are just some of the characters. I think this strip has about the right amount of characters.

This book is my first encounter with the comic and it is very appealing. I won't tell you to buy it, because I'm not a salesperson. I'm merely telling you why I like it.

In Big Honkin Zits (hey, it's named after ME when I was 16..or 26) you can clearly see WHY this strip by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman is one of the fastest growing and most popular strips EVER.

The best way to explain it is: it's on the same quality level as Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes at it's funniest, most irony-laced and visually comedic BEST. Once again we have Jeremy...the self-absorbed 15-year-old who is constantly (in his view) humiliated by his parents' mere existance (except when he lowers the posture and briefly show he really cares). The strip shows things from the adult point of view but ALSO does a good job of pointing out how a teen might view the parents (his parents ARE dorky).

There are several reasons why this strip is such great COMEDY, and holds up so well in a treasury form such as this. The artists use a story-line of sorts (akin to the story-line Watterson would use where a given daily strip would stand alone but is part of a group with a theme). The shorter strips work as well as the longer ones. As in Calvin & Hobbes we often see things from the teen or parental view in the form of a fantasy (his father dressed like a clown; Jeremy with huge ears after his girlfriend mentions his ears are big).It's a strip that shows character evolution: his girlfriend finally gets her braces off; he goes to his first real rock concert; sneaks into his first teen porn film etc.

But above all it's the world-class visual comedy, character facial expressions and actual irony-heavy comedy that makes this strip among the best EVER. Since there are tons of strips I'll share one that is my favorite. Jeremy's mother reads an article that says "the average teenage boy thinks about sex once every eight minutes." They look at each other and each says "Wow." She thinks: "That much?" He thinks: "That's all?"

You're going to want to read Big Honkin' Zits again and again and each time you're going to laugh as much as the first time. SUPERB selection of a SUPERB strip that happily continues to quickly grow in circulation, artistically and comedically.

Jeremy returns in his second treasury, combining strips from the books "Don't Roll Your Eyes at Me, Young Man!" and "Are We an Us?" Not much has changed since the first treasury. He still wishes his parents would get off his back, he still doesn't understand women, and he still dreams of making it big in music. But whether he's trying to decide what to do about the upcoming Gingivitis concert, win back Sara from a sophomore, support a friend's mom who has cancer, or sneak over to his girlfriend's babysitting job, he's sure to find the humor in any situation.

Unfortunately, I don't get the strip in my local paper, so I have to wait for these books to enjoy it. But I can certainly see why it has become such a popular strip. Everyone can appreciate the humor in the storylines, which poke fun at everyone equally. The visual gages are some of the best in the papers today and make for some of the best strips in the book as well. And it's easy to like these characters because they really do have good hearts just beneath the surface. My only complaint with this book is that the strips don't appear to be in order. It makes for a little confusion when a character is first introduced after we've already met him or her, but over all, it really is minor.

This is a wonderful collection that should win new fans and satisfy the old. Buy it today and enjoy the laughs.

This book is the coolest thing since sliced bread.

I just love the laid-back style of humour that the authors use, especially in their choice of highly colorful words for the definitions.

Clever and charming, this little book is a must stocking stuffer for your literate friend or relative. I hope they come out with a sequel!

The premise of this book is the following:

Step 1: Make up tons of portmanteaux.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Comedy gold!

I don't know about anyone else, but this seems a weak foundation, and I did not find the execution particularly amusing.

On the other hand, I adore the design and typography. That alone yields three stars, because I am an obsessive æsthete.

Not expecting much, I picked up this little book while waiting in line at my local Barnes & Noble. By the time I reached the cashier I was laughing so hard I had to step aside to catch my breath. Afterward I bought 10 copies to give to my friends and co-workers, who found the book as clever as I did. Even the drawings are great!

This book is a gem, to be treasured and re-read for years.

Like a bowl of Hershey's kisses, this sweet little book delights with clever verbal bonbons. And they're not fattening.

This is a fun book, more of a browse and skim than a read. That's a good thing. Lots of facts and figures (factoids?) about turning and being age 30. Perfect gift material. Plus, it's a little square of a book, so it sits unobtrusively wherever you want, and the design is great, too.

Sent to my nephew on his 30th birthday. He enjoyed it.

What a fun book! My first 30th birthday party was a hit with this creative book. We couldn't stop passing it around the party. It is an absolute treasure of a book. A perfect gift...so enjoyable and very reasonable...and it makes 30 seem so young. Go out and buy your copy now.

Fantastic book. Makes the perfect birthday gift for anyone turning 30.

Not every famous person is an instant millionaire by 30, nor do they shrivel up and die of old age. This book is filled with hilarious facts about the famous and not-so-famous 30-something crowd. A great read and a sobering reminder that turning 30 isn't the end of the world. My friends and I really enjoyed it.

A friend gave me this book to cheers me up after I had just broken up with my first serious girlfriend.

I thought given the title she was being ironic but after reading it I couldn't stop laughing.

Lent it to a friend, neved got it back!

An exellent book. One of the funniest I've read in a long time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a laugh. All of the people with who I discuss it want to borrow it, but I don't let them. This book puts the Darwin Awards to shame.

Next to David Niven's 'The Moon's a Balloon' this is the funniest book I have ever read. Bought it years ago and lent it to a friend. Never seen since but hope to get another copy. An absolute must for the bookshelves of those with a good sense of humour.

This is my favorite book. I have nearly every story in it memorized and I find myself re-reading the book again and again. It's one of those rare books that you start reading it smiling, then laughing out loud, and soon you're wiping tears from your eyes. Highly recommended.

I read this at a B&B in Wales; then was ecstatic to find it at Half Price Books in the States. I have lent it to many, but make strong demands for its return. You will want to make it part of your permanent collection.

Joel Fried openly shares his humanness with us in this very funny book. He successfully uses humor as the lens to soften and lighten some of the memories and to sharpen what is hysterical in life. Joel writes the kind of stuff that most of us have go through our minds, if we are at all honest with ourselves. And, Joel has the gift of humor, that really makes you laugh out loud. With his poetry he shares his thoughts and feelings in a very real way, letting the reader in on the workings of his amazing mind. This book is definitely a book you can read again and again, and love it every time.

Who ever knew that so many things we secretly may notice about our everday lives could be so hysterical! Thanks to "Bursts," and Joel's
laugh out loud take on all he observes, we can feel comfort with the quirky behaviors and things that happen every day and begin to share those feelings!
The poems included at the end are succinct & moving, showing the author's serious and sincere side, so often not available to witness of the comedian.
There is truly something for everyone in this extremely funny, read and
re-read read!

This book is a delightful rambling on the vagaries of middle age. From vanity issues of nose hair, thinning hair, and waning muscle tone to the challenges of relationships with children and spouses, the author bravely gives voice to that which makes us human. The frustrations and absurdities of modern day life are examined with an honesty that is touching. I loved the book and would imagine that anyone who doesn't love it, just takes life and themselves much to seriously.

It's not very often we read something that makes us burst out loud laughing, but it sure is great when we do! And I literally guffawed more than a few times while reading Joel Fried's hysterical collection of humorous ruminations. The very short reflections appropriately described as "bursts" are just that: little explosions from a mind that clearly sees the funny side of life, even in its most mundane moments. Fried writes about everyday situations and makes us realize just how ridiculous such familiar scenarios truly are. You can't help but laugh when reading Bursts.

I LOVED THE BOOK! After reading these intensely funny yet highly personal short stories you'll agree that this is a must read for everyone who loves to laugh.

This is my favorite book of all time because it has a great amount of adventure and laughs. Marco and Polo are so cute and since I am a cat lover that gave me a plus in rating this book 5 stars.

The things I like about Carlotta`s Kittens are that it has passion, drama and the kittens are so cute you're going to love it. I think that Carlotta`s Kittens is for all ages especially grades 2 through 5. The things I dislike about the book is the cat named Steak Knife. I did not like him because he was going to chew off one of the character's (Catnip`s) tail. The other thing is I don't know why I didn't mention this before but he has a tail collection! The two things about Carlotta`s Kittens is 1:The Neal Family adopted Jumper and Spinner.2:I also enjoyed when Carlotta said, "You may be big and you may be strong but you've all got the brains of a banana!"

Carlottas kittens are here! 5 little adorable kittens! When they come to the club of mysteries the he casts know there is going to be trouble. Like they could get eaten up by this do bertrem the bad. Od steak knife a cat who collects tails from his victims. And worst of all Carlotta's Owner who will take them to the pound if he finds them. They msut find a home and fast before it's to late.

There are more books in this trilogy. If you have ever read or seen shiloh this is by the author. If you like long hard books you will still like this.

Carlotta's Kittens is an awesome book! It's exciting, adventurous, and hilarious! I rented it from the library and once I started reading the first and second chapters, I started loving it! I haven't read the first two books of the "Club Of Mysteries" series, but I still think it is one of the greatest books I've ever read! My favorite characters are Carlotta, Polo, Catnip, and Elvis. I loved all the characters, actually...but anyways, why don't YOU read it? I think you'll love it too!

Carlotta's Kittens by Phyllis Reynolds Nichols

Read this book. It's a mystery about cats and kittens and tails. This book is about a girl cat who has kittens and her friends from the alley. When she got back with her kittens her friends taught the kittens to do cat stuff, until one of the kittens got kidnapped by a one-eye cat. And some of Carlotta's friends go rescue the kitten by tricking the one eye cat.

I liked this book because it was funny. This book kept making me laugh. When I was reading this book it reminded me of a cat that fell off a tree and landed in my dad's arms.

I think the author wrote this book so that kids should find baby animals a home so they could know some animals are in danger.

I am from England and have bought all of Deric Longden's books there. I am surpries to find that they are all out of print here - he has an amazing way with words that left me laughing out loud. The tale of a small white kitten called Thermal (for reasons which I will not go into here) is one that as well being incredibly funny also has moments of sadness init as well. The books "Diana's story" and "Lost for words" are also not to be missed, although I can guarentee tears as well as laughter with these books.

American readers who enjoy authors such as Cleveland Armory are really deprived of the British author Derick Longden's classics. "The Cat Who Came In From the Cold" was the first of his books I read, but was able to read more only because I have a friend who orders them from the UK. Longden imparts personality and (imagined) dialogues and thoughts from his cats, which will have you chuckling and nodding in agreement with his knowledge of our feline favorites. GET HIS BOOKS!

I first picked up the audio version of "The Cat Who Came in From the Cold" from our library while preparing for a marathon car trip with my husband (not a man who thinks highly of cats) and sons (ages 23, 20 and 14). I was pretty skeptical that the male majority would really 'let' me listen to a book with a cute little kitten on the cover, but I added it to my stack anyway (it's good to be Queen!). After having had my fill of "Tom Clancy" and his friends, I plugged in "The Cat Who Came in From the Cold" and soon ALL of us were all laughing the miles away. On our return leg of our trip, all these big guys (and their mom AND DAD) wanted to hear the "Thermal" tapes again (listening to a story a second time through is unheard of around here!) Along with most of Deric Longden's other books, we now own our own set of tapes to share with family, and the book version (which my 14 year old son, who hates to read, read cover to cover in about a day). Cheeky Thermal is an oft quoted cat around here. It is also nice to find a book that appeals to everyone in the family without any objectionable material. This is just great, light-hearted fare.

I listened to this book on audio cassette while I cleaned my barn. It was so much fun to listen to, I cleaned more and more each day because I didn't want to turn off the tape. My barn is now immaculate, and I was sorry to come to the end of the story!

Having read Deric Longden's first five books (the others include Diana's Story, Lost For Words, I'm a Stranger Here Myself & Enough to Make a Cat Laugh), I can confidentally say that this is when the author is at his best. He delivers enough comedy (something to be expanded upon in subsequent books), but mixed with a subtle version of his own blend of tragedy (already established in previous books). Whilst many thought that his characterization of his mother's mental decline in Lost For Words was distasteful, I would think that even the harshest of critics would fail not to find the story of a lost kitten a least a little endearing.

Although it may be easy enough to dismiss this as simply a children's novel, I would say that, given enough suspension of disbelief & a little imagination, this can be a thoroughly enjoying read, and (cliche) a book that you will want to keep coming back to, time & again, even if only for some of the amusing anecdottes presented by Thermal.