Humorous literature: Motivation for reluctant readers

The purpose of this article is to examine the use of humorous literature with children who are reluctant readers. A rationale for using humorous literature as an aid in developing word recognition and reading fluency is presented, followed by descriptions of various types of humor found in children's tradebooks and suggestions for ways to motivate children to participate in repeated readings. An extensive bibliography of books in each of the categories of humor described in the article is included.