Big Joke Game

by Scott Corbett

Book Overview

A young boy who loves practical jokes and games finds himself in the strange land of Limbo where the only way out is to play a complicated game. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B00282IPVE
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Young Readers Press, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Ah, nostalgia...

Recipe for creating a successful adult with a healthy ability for recognizing the humor, absurdity, and delicious mystery of life: Ingredients: 1 The Big Joke Game 1 The Westing Game 1 Lizard Music n Issues of Classic Mad Magazine (pre corporate-influence) Directions: 1) Read 2) Repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat....

Clever little Children's Tale

I loved this book when I was a kid, and recently received a copy of it as a gift. I re-read it and found it to be just as entertaining as I did when I was a child. Ozzie is a child obsessed with two things -- jokes and games. His love for the two get him into so much trouble that he winds up faced with the prospect of military school, and decides to run away. A fall from a trellis, however, sends him to limbo where he meets his guardian devil, Bub, who's been keeping an eye on him. He's only got one shot to go back to Earth -- he's got to play, and win, The Big Joke Game. This book follows the same pattern as a great number of children's fantasies, from the Oz books to Harry Potter -- it's about a child ripped from the "ordinary" world to a place of wonder and magic. Unlike many of those books, however, for Ozzie getting home is literally a matter of life and death. What's more, the purpose of the game is really to teach him some discipline and self-control, and once that moral gets to a kid, it's no wonder the book didn't quite become a classic. Still, it's a pleasant, really fast read that I've never gotten tired of. And come on -- who among us wouldn't jump at the chance to play a life-sized board game? If you're looking for something new in children's books, try to hunt down a copy of this forgotten gem.