Reading Level: Grades 1-2 Interest Level: Grades K – 3
Little Chicky Nug was a little different from the other nuggets. She was small. She had a bulge where other nuggets had a dent. Worst of all, there was a little breading missing from her left side. No one was supposed to see your insides until your eating day! Will a trip to the Island of Misfit Nugs help her find her place on the plate?
This series gets pun-based humor right and is deranged in all the right ways. Characters are photographs of real fries and burgers anthropomorphized with digitally added cartoon faces and arms. All the lead characters are fun, but the secondary characters steal the spotlight. For instance, a very pale vampire French fry who has been lost under a car seat for six months is representative of the series’ brilliant weirdness. It’s not all absurdity, though. Stories are about conflict resolution, perseverance, and self-esteem with a twist. For instance, Tater Fry and Burgerman appear to be working up courage to get children to eat them. Puns range from great—an ice cream on the run needs to “split”—to genius, like the historic Battle of Spaghettisburg. Back matter explains puns to readers and gives some tips on coming up with some funny bon mots of their own. VERDICT These truly funny books are packed with flavor and substance.
This reviewer read The Misfit Nugget: Bite-Sized Acceptance from the Puns of Fun! series. Little Chicky Nug is a tad different from the other nuggets coming off the conveyor belt. She has a little bit of a bulge, a dent where there should not be one, and she’s missing a little breading. As she goes on a quest to find a place to fit in, she learns about sticking with a task even if it seems challenging, that kindness goes a long way, and that whatever happens she can dill, er deal, with it. The digital art of the illustrations adds to the humor of the story. THOUGHTS: This book is part of the series, Puns of Fun. All the stories blend social- emotional learning with humor. This would be a great book to teach puns to older elementary students, and the funny nugget shenanigans and bright digital design of the illustrations will appeal to the younger grades. Each story in the series focuses on a social-emotional theme.
