'Why did the guy eat two dead skunks for breakfast?' 'Because dead ones squeal when you stick the fork in.' Gary W. Boone knows he was born to be a stand-up comedian. It is the rest of the kids in the class who think he is a fool. Then the Floyd Hicks Junior High School Talent Show is announced, and he starts practising his routine non-stop to get it just right. Gary's sure that this will be his big break - he'll make everyone laugh and will win the $100 prize money. But when an outrageous surprise threatens to turn his debut into a disaster, it looks as if the biggest joke of all may be on Gary himself.

Angeline could read before she was old enough to turn the pages of a book, and she mastered the piano without a single lesson. But being so clever doesn't make life easy for Angeline. This charming book is a quirky celebration of fathers, teachers, being yourself and finding happiness in unexpected places.

Besides being man's best friends, our canine companions turn out to be some of the world's best comedians, from puppy antics that convulse us into giggles, to the pranks of older furry friends that keep us chortling at life's follies. Here is a compact treasury of canine humor that simply takes the biscuit. Packed with dog jokes, dog riddles (''What has four legs and one arm? A happy pit bull''), quips and quotes (''Never moon a werewolf''),''dogma,'' doggerel, and much more, such as dog license errors (''Alaskan Malibu,'' ''Borderline Collie''), it's guaranteed to have you howling with laughter. Note: Some ''mature'' (actually immature) content.

When Johnny has his eleventh birthday, his parents decide that he is old enough for dancing classes, but too old to collect bottle caps any more.

The most important speeches of America's "Great Communicator": Here, in his own words, is the record of Ronald Reagan's remarkable political career and historic eight-year presidency.

Colorful illustrations and simple text create engaging riddles and jokes.

Maira Kalman, with wit and great sensitivity, reveals why dogs bring out the best in us Maira Kalman + Dogs = Bliss Dogs have lessons for us all. In Beloved Dog, renowned artist and author Maira Kalman illuminates our cherished companions as only she can. From the dogs lovingly illustrated in her acclaimed children’s books to the real-life pets who inspire her still, Kalman’s Beloved Dog is joyful, beautifully illustrated, and, as always, deeply philosophical. Here is Max Stravinsky, the dog poet of Oh-La-La (Max in Love)-fame, and her own Irish Wheaton Pete (almost named Einstein, until he revealed himself to be “clearly no Einstein”), who also made an appearance in the delightful What Pete Ate: From A to Z. And of course, there is Boganch, Kalman’s in-laws’ “big black slobbering Hungarian Beast.” And that’s just the beginning. With humor and intelligence, Kalman gives voice to the dogs she adores, noting that they are constant reminders that life reveals the best of itself when we live fully in the moment and extend unconditional love. “And it is very true,” she writes, “that the most tender, complicated, most generous part of our being blossoms without any effort, when it comes to the love of a dog.”