WHERE'S MY FNURGLE?

The creator of the Dear Dumb Diary series bring his twisted third-grade humor to board books.

Using cartoony line drawings and rhyming text, the narrator asks for help finding his missing fnurgle—assuming readers know what that is. Adults and older kids quickly get the joke: the fnurgle peeks through a window, is just outside the door or is in plain sight on the toilet—but always far from where the text directs readers to look. Although the series is billed as being “based on early concepts,” the ideas are fairly abstract for children best served by board books—in fact, it’s not clear at all what concept the fnurgle is trying to illustrate. Other books in the series include Five Stinky Socks (counting) and Robot Kitties (opposites). The most successful as a concept book is Piggy Paints (colors). They all touch on topics that may get active toddlers to sit still for a story—and older siblings to read aloud. With smells, robots, and messy paint, what’s not to love?

Share these books with young children who are not quite ready for “Sue Denim” and Dav Pilkey's Dumb Bunnies or Benton’s other books but are poised to move on from Sandra Boynton's board books.