"Franny Steinberg knows there's powerful magic in laughter. She's witnessed it. With the men of Chicago off fighting WWII on distant shores, Franny has watched the women of the city taking charge of the war effort. But amidst the war bond sales and factory shifts, something surprising has emerged, something Franny could never have expected. A new marvel that has women flocking to comedy clubs across the nation: the Showstopper. When Franny steps into...

As the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic finals near, Jamie faces a whirlwind of attention at school and in the media and the fame starts to go to his head, but in Hollywood with Uncle Frankie, some of his fellow comedians quickly show him what competition and pressure are all about.

Resolving to become the world's greatest stand-up comedian despite less-than-funny challenges in his life, wheelchair-bound middle school student Jamie Grimm endures bullying from his mean-spirited cousin and hopes he will be fairly judged when he enters a local comedy contest.

Leading a double life as Sabrina, a funny-girl alter-ego that frees her to explore who she really is and what she really wants, teen stand-up comic Gretchen is torn between two boys as she learns to be her truest self.

Will stage fright prevent a very funny bear from becoming a stand-up comedian?

Not Me is a remarkable debut novel that tells the dramatic and surprising stories of two men–father and son–through sixty years of uncertain memory, distorted history, and assumed identity. When Heshel Rosenheim, apparently suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, hands his son, Michael, a box of moldy old journals, an amazing adventure begins–one that takes the reader from the concentration camps of Poland to an improbable...

Sometimes in life, opposites are drawn to each other--somehow, each providing the other with something they don't have, but desperately need. National Book Award finalist Elizabeth McCracken pens this graceful, moving tale of an unlikely pairing of two men and their lifelong partnership in show business. Drawn to Vaudeville from a Jewish upbringing in a small town outside Des Moines, Mose Sharp meets Rocky Carter at a comedy club. Missing his usual...

In Ron Goulart's well received series featuring comedian-cum-amateur sleuth Groucho Marx, Groucho and his writer Frank Denby have made a name for themselves as detectives. In fact, in their last case, they were able to outsmart Sherlock Holmes, or at least the actor playing him. However, both men play down their sleuthing abilities and to escape their new reputation, Groucho agrees to perform in a Broadway play and Frank accompanies his wife on a...

After losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he sees a clip from a lost film by the silent comedian Hector Mann. Zimmer soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to study the works of this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929. Presumed dead for sixty years, Hector Mann was...

"While on a mission to win the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic regional competition, New York middle schooler Jamie Grimm copes with rival comics and bullies, a buddy in trouble, and a sudden family emergency, all with a sense of humor and a loyal group of friends"--Provided by publisher.