Top 3 Weirdest Kids' Book Titles at the Library (That I've Found So Far)

I've been shelving and shifting the juvenile chapter books, and here's three pretty lulz worthy titles I found therein. Mainly because they just don't make any sense.

1 ) Do Bananas Chew Gum?

What It's Actually About : " Able to read and write at only a second grade level, sixth-grader Sam Mott considers himself dumb until he is prompted to cooperate with those who think something can be done about his problem." ( taken from back cover )

The book itself is actually quite charming. It's about a boy who is embarrassed by his learning disability. It won the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (1982) : an award that is nominated by literary critics and then selected by fourth, fifth, and sixth graders of Arkansas as being an outstanding book to read.

And yet, I do not understand why the book has the title that it does. If I ever get the opportunity to talk to Jamie Gilson, you can bet that's a question I'm going to ask him. The book is primarily about a kid who struggles with the ability to read and write on a level suitable for him, and while it has been years since I actually read the novel, I don't remember 'bananas' being mentioned anywhere!

2 ) I Smell Like Ham

What It's Actually About : "Boys, basketball, barf -- the pefect middle grade novel! Nick wants to convince the coach that he's a point guard, get rid of Dwayne-the-dork, and stop missing his mother. But that's tough to do when he can't keep the ball way from Carson Jones, the dork is his stepbrother, the honor code's a joke, and he's been splattered with something worse-smelling than ham." ( taken from back cover )

I'm not even sure what was going through Betty Hicks's mind when she was tossing around ideas for this book title. I know that I don't correlate ham with basketball at all but I'm pretty sure that it's some sort of inside joke present in the novel. The only appeal about the title is definitely getting boys who are into books like Yuck's Fart Club and Dr. Proctor's Fart Powder (what's with all the fart books???) to check it out. It doesn't seem to be very successful here though and the only response it got out of me was 'Heh, weird...'

3 ) God is in the Pancakes

What It's Actually About : "Fifteen-year-old Grace Manning is a candy striper in a nursing home, and Mr. Sands is the one patient who makes the job bearable. He keeps up with her sarcasm, teaches her to play poker . . . and one day cheerfully asks her to help him die. At first Grace says no way, but as Mr. Sands's disease progresses, she's not so sure. Grace tries to avoid the wrenching decision by praying for a miracle, stuffing herself with pancakes, and running away from all feelings, including the new ones she has for her best friend Eric. But Mr. Sands is getting worse, and she can't avoid him forever. " ( taken from back cover )

All I can really say is 'wow, with such a weird and funny title, this is a depressing sounding book' ...

I haven't read this book either, but from what I've read about it, it makes a very strong impact on a lot of readers exploring things like faith, death, and God, but not in a super-preachy Christian fiction way.

There are pancakes in the book so I suppose the title isn't THAT weird, but if you have no idea what it is, then skimming across it in the library can make you giggle a little bit.