I FUNNY, by Jame Patterson

The story: Jamie Grimm has a lemon of a life. He's had to move in (permanently) with his aunt and uncle, his cousin Stevie bullies him without ceasing, and he's stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. But Jamie keeps turning those lemons into lemonade, and with a little help from his friends, he might just turn out to be the funniest kid on the planet--or at least, in the state of New York!

June Cleaver's rating: Language G; Violence G; Nudity G; Sexual content G; magic and the occult G; substance abuse G; GLBT content G; adult themes (death of parents, disability) PG; overall rating: G.

Liz's comments: Here's a fun story that also has a moral (which kids may just have to absorb without noticing, depending on how hard they're laughing): work hard if you want to succeed. Yes, natural talent is good, but hard work is good too--and it's also a tonic for making it through your pain. Jamie is a non-whining hero who uses a crummy situation (non-emotionally-supportive adoptive family, bullying, unexpected disability, and the deaths of his immediate family a year ago) to help him crank out the funny stuff. You'll cheer for Jamie every step of the way...even through the booger jokes!