April Fool’s Day has been celebrated for centuries by many cultures, and often involves playing hoaxes or practical jokes. These jokes can, at times, require the jokester to break the awkward silence that follows these occasionally ill-advised events with a hearty, “April Fools!”
While this unofficial holiday’s origins are shrouded in mystery, one thing is for certain – media and major brands have ensured the day’s antics remain highly anticipated. We’ve all enjoyed WestJet’s yearly televised pranks, or Tim Horton’s claim of creating the World’s largest Timbit, or the National Research Council of Canada’s update on the ongoing zombie apocalypse.
There is something in the human psyche that enjoys being fooled, whether it’s as simple as playing peek-a-boo with your infant or as tongue-in-cheek a prank as Dairyland’s Left-Handed 4L milk jugs.
Whatever the prank or joke, we’re prepared to laugh, particularly if it’s with us and not at us.
Here at Airdrie Public Library (APL), we love a good joke or prank as much as the next library, so in celebration of this year’s April Fool’s Day, we would like to share a brief list of fiction about fools, jokers, and pranksters.
First, for the adults, Robert B. Parker’s Fool Me Twice, Fern Michael’s Fool Me Once, and Richard Russo’s Nobody’s Fool spin tales of lives marred by foolish decisions.
Teens and young adults can find all sorts of laughs through their library, including Cynthis Hand’s My Plain Jane, Christopher Moore’s Fool, and Jesse Andrews’ Munmun.
For the children, we have Marc Brown’s Arthur’s April Fool, Mike Thaler’s April Fools’ Day from the Black Lagoon, and Megan McDonald’s April Fool’s, Mr. Todd!
Of course – and this is no joke – they’re all available with your library card.
So, even if you’re not a prankster, but you enjoy a good read that might include a laugh and a chuckle, your library has it all.
To learn more about APL’s collection, visit airdriepubliclibraryc.ca
