The Subtlety of Humor by Darlene Beck Jacobson

 Let's face it. We all love to laugh. We need to laugh. Laughter fills up our buckets in a way that lifts us up and helps us see the world a bit differently. 

And, it seems that editors and publisher of children's books love stories filled with humor. Humor that works well in a story feels like a gift. An unexpected gift that brightens our day. 

Writing humorous passages isn't always easy. For it to work, it has to feel natural and part of the character offering it. Instead of aiming for high hilarity, or slapstick in-your-face gags, try subtle humor. The kind that makes us smile and connects us with the characters in a quieter, less showy way.

Here are a couple of examples. The first two are from my verse novel WISHES, DARES, AND HOW TO STAND UP TO A BULLY (Creston Books) 

 

TAPE

 

Katy drags the sheet from her bed

onto the grass in the backyard.

Let’s camp out, she says.

 

I tape one end to the fencepost

with Pops’ duct tape.

Quack, quack, says Katy

Why is it called duck tape, Jack?

 

I hold the roll up to her ear.

Listen.

Moooooo, I say.

It works the same for any animal, I tell her.

 

Then I’m calling it pig tape.

Katy squeals and we take

turns making all the

barnyard sounds we can think of,

taping the other end of the sheet

to the picnic table.

 

 

 

BITE

 

At the county fair one summer,

Mom baked a blueberry pie.

It won a red ribbon,

second place.

 

Let’s celebrate, said Dad.

Who can take the biggest bite

without using a fork?

Hands behind your back.

 

Me

Mom

 Dad

three-year-old Katy with

heads touching as we hovered over the pie.

One, two, three, go!

 

Dove in and came up with

purple chin and crust crumbs on my face.

Mom and Katy, too.

Dad’s face was clean.

Why didn’t you take a bite? I asked.

 

Didn’t want to miss seeing you three dive in.

No manners at all

shameful

shocking.

Dad’s smile a mile wide,

laughter filling his mouth instead of pie.

 

Mom made him take his turn

while we three watched,

laughing as he

snorted his way through a bite.

 

 My silly drawing of us

with four purple faces

hangs on my bedroom wall.

 

This one comes from my first novel WHEELS OF CHANGE where the main character EMILY and her best friend Charlie share some watermelon offered by Charlie's dad at a farm fair in 1908 Washington DC. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The last one is from my upcoming novel due in spring 2027 MY OWN KIND OF BRAVE. (Reycraft Publishing)

 Blizzard

Hours, piles, mountains of snow in March,

when it’s supposed to be spring.

A blizzard, the weather channel guy says.

Over and over again.

 

A blizzard is windy snow. Can't see roads in a blizzard.

A blizzard makes it hard for people to get out.

Hard to drive.

           

Except Dad. He has a snowplow.

A chunk of Dad’s work depends on snow.

The more the better is his motto. A motto

is a saying you believe is true.

A saying that makes you do things even when you shouldn’t.

Dad’s always doing things he shouldn’t, Mom says.

 

On that blizzard day, Dad gets back from plowing

parking lots and driveways all day.

A thermos of coffee and two roast beef sandwiches

eaten in the truck between plowing jobs.

Home in the dark.  

 

So tired he plops on the sofa.

Lou, your boots! Mom yells. Not a mad yell. Just loud.

Kids? Dad smiles. My sister Ruby and I take a foot,

untie the boots and on the count of three, pull them off.

Dad laughs when we land on our butts.

We do it on purpose to hear that laugh, that

comes from his belly and echoes through the room.

 

The more he laughs, the more we laugh, like a

disease you want to catch and pass on. Dad can

make ordinary things seem really funny.

 

Maybe that's the key to adding humor to our writing. Paying attention to the humor in the ordinary things in life. Things that make us smile.

Darlene Beck Jacobson enjoys finding the humor in nature on her many walks in parks and wooded areas. MY OWN KIND OF BRAVE, a contemporary novel in verse,  is scheduled for release from Reycraft in spring 2027.