Instructor Stories: Laurie Keller

Introduction
It is with great pleasure that I introduce our newest mini-class instructor (and very possibly critique group mentor) . . .
If you're part of our membership, you should have access to “Writing Humor with Laurie Keller” already. She also agreed to mentor a discounted critique group this term, and I can't think of a better person you could have as a mentor if you want to make children laugh. We're still hammering out the details. (Get it? Probably not, if you haven't watched her mini-class.)
If you're familiar with the ALA awards, which include the Caldecott and the Newbery, Laurie won the 2017 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for WE ARE GROWING, her first early reader. She wrote the following song to thank the award committee for choosing her.
Writing Humor
Raise your hand if you like to make people laugh. Do people groan when you make puns? Is your imagination captured by interesting coincidences? Do you love funny parodies?
If any of those apply to you, you're going to love Laurie Keller's new mini-class
In Laurie's class, I learned how to:
- use puns, parody, and wordplay in a story
- make the most of sideline stories
- lighten a heavy moment
- present facts in a more interesting way
- play with voice
- add unexpected details
- find inspiration
- use humor to escalate emotion in a story
- make the most of page turns
You're going to enjoy this class, because we all enjoy humor, right?

Best of all, there's a live workshop on August 29 at noon, PDT, where Laurie will review some student submissions and answer questions. It's going to be fun!
Laurie's Books
Laurie has so many great children's books that I'm just going to share some of the highlights. Many of them have some kind of educational or nonfiction element. Some have even been turned into fun educational videos.

ARNIE THE DOUGHNUT was so popular that Laurie got to create a fun chapter book series based on it.






Book Giveaway Details
I will be giving away a copy of one of Laurie Keller's books. Any book written and/or illustrated by Laurie Keller is an option. To enter, just comment on this post with the book you'd like to win. You don't have to be a student or buy anything to enter.
If you're outside the United States, just choose a book carried by Book Depository.
For additional entries, you can share the post on social media and post a link to where you’ve shared in the comments (preferably as a comment to your original comment so that all of your entries are grouped together).
I’ll close the contest at midnight, Pacific Time, on August 25. Thanks for reading and sharing!
Blog Contributors

Myrna Foster writes and edits content for Storyteller Academy and the WriteRiders Newsletter for SCBWI Nevada. She has spent a lot of time teaching and coaching children, including five years as a preschool teacher. She's also worked as a journalist, and Highlights High Five has published six of her poems.

Arree Chung is an author/illustrator and the founder of Storyteller Academy. Arree’s Ninja! series has received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Kirkus also gave a starred review to Mixed, which recently won the FCGB award.
Today Arree lives a creative life, making stories for children. Arree spends most of his time making picture books, writing middle grade novels, and sharing his love for art, design, and storytelling with kids and dreamers everywhere.
Love Potato Pants!
Arnie the doughnut looks delicious!
I want them all but Do Unto Otters and the Scrambled States of America Talent show are screaming at me! So creative!
Pluto Gets the Call!!!
I absolutely am thrilled to see that I have picked up many of Laurie’s books without understanding that she wrote all of them! My son loves “We Are Growing” and a lot of Laurie’s other books are read in my classroom.
Just by reading the titles, such as DO UNTO OTTERS, you can see how these would interest children and teach them something.
Scrambled States of America Talent Show sounds perfect for this time in which we are living
Elyse
Thank you for the opportunity to get a book. We are growing is a great book!
Her books are so hilarious and entertaining to read aloud! I’d love a copy of Arnie the Doughnut. Thanks for the opportunity.
Pluto gets the call sounds fun!
Do Unto Otters, sounds so awesome!
Scrambled States of America! I love this one.
Potato Pants😊. Btw….I’m already a huge fan knowing she also plays banjo!
Potato Pants😊. Love that she plays banjo!
I like “We Are Growing” by Laurie Killer.
Loved Laurie’s mini class!! I would love to get Potato Pants or one of Arnie the Doughnut books. If I don’t win, I’m going to buy them anyway! Thanks for the opportunity.
Ohmygosh! I’ve been looking forward to a humor class to help me inject some tee hees into my MS. And as I’ve been searching up read-alouds lately, I keep seeing Chris o’dowd holding Arnie the Doughnut up to read – must mean something. Can’t wait…
The Adventures of Doughnut
Please, I would love Do Unto Otters! Thank you.
I got the Joke. Hammer. Hahaha haha. Her Intro is awesome.
If you haven’t read Arnie the Doughnut, look for Chris O’Dowd reading it. If you have read it but you didn’t see Chris read it, look it up. Awesome sauce.
Which book? Which book would I choose?
I want them all. When I win the lottery, I’m going to build a library and have all the books.
For now, I choose . . . POTATO PANTS.
Yay! Thank you for getting my joke. :o)
The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut
I can’t wait to take Laurie’s class! Laughing is the best! I’d love a copy of Arnie the Doughnut!
My twins would love Potato Pants!
The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut
These books all look so exciting! Can’t wait to read them! My choice for the giveaway is the Scrambled States of America. Thanks!
Scrambled States looks like a fantastic way to help my international students to enjoy learning about this really big confusing country.
The Arnie the Doughnut
Laura is super funny! Pluto gets a call!!!
I finished this class today. Lots of great info, I also shared with my 15 year old daughter. She’s an aspiring PB illustrator. If I won the drawing, I’d love to own Pluto Gets the Call. Thank you!
I am very grateful to receive the book Arnie the Doughnut. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to know you thru your books. I am sure I will enjoy the book as well as my 4 grandsons. Thanks
I would love to own a copy of Arnie the Doughnut. It is one of my favorite books ever !
Arnie please!
We are growing!
They all look very very fun and interesting! Can’t wait to read them! I wud love to pick ‘Pluto gets the call’ first!
Potato Pants looks great!
We are growing!
We are growing is such an fun concept. I think it would be challenging to have a story about grass which doesn’t move, but now I’m super curious!
Arnie the Doughnut
The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut or Do Unto Otters. I can’t decide!!!
The Scrambled States of America Talent Show!
Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut!
Pluto gets the call please. Thank you.
Thanks for this opportunity! I don’t know this author, her covers look so interesting and captivating. I would choose “Potato Pants” or “We are growing”, but I live overseas and I don’t know if any of them is carried by Book Depository, so anyone would be great! Thanks again!
Lucia
I’d like to get ‘Potato Pants!’ or ‘We Are Growing’. (I already own ‘Do Unto Otters’ and ‘Scrambled States of America Talent Show’) Or any of the other books I don’t already have sounds great! Thank you 😊
So many fun options!!!
if I must pick one now: Pluto gets the call
Thanks!
So hard to decide. Eeny meenie tiny mo – choosing POTATO PANTS because I loved playing with Mr. Potato Head as a kid- sometimes using real potatoes!
Potato Pants is my favorite.
Potato Pants, please! Thank you!
Arnie the Donut!!
I’d love a copy of We Are Growing! Thanks, Myrna!
Arnie the doughnut!
The adventures of Arnie the Donut
Pluto Gets the Call, Please. Thank you!
Pluto Gets the Call!
I think I would love to see what The Scrambled States of America is all about. Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Potato Pants pretty please!
Wow! This is my first intro to this author and am not familiar with her, but I love donuts, so I would choose
Arnie the Doughnut!
Thank you!
I would love to win a copy of Potato Pants.
I love her pointers in the class about finding the humor along the way and trusting your instincts! I would love to have Arnie the Doughnut 🙂
We love the Otters book in our house. 😍 I would love to win Potato Pants!
Fab giveaway. We love funny books in our house! Would love to win We Are Growing.
Arnie the Donut or whichever she thinks is funniest for 2nd graders!
Do Unto Otters!
Do Unto Otters sounds so cute!!!
I 💗otters and would love the Do Unto Otters 🦦 Book. They even hold hands 💗💗💗
Potato pants!
Thank you for this opportunity. I would love to have them all. To choose one, I choose ,Do Unto Otters’ this one has caught my eye first. Thank you again.
Pluto Gets The Call would be be awesome for the class discussion on planets
Thanks for sharing! This post made me hungry for donuts! 🍩 Arnie the Donut please! Yum!
Do Unto Otters 🙂
Thanks for sharing. The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut would be an amazing addition to my
Library.
Do Unto Otters!!!!!!
Laurie’s class was fantastic! I’d love to have Potato Pants if I’m chosen. Thank you!
They all look fun and have beautiful illustrations! I’m gonna pick Potato Pants. Thank you for this chance. 🥰👍
Arnie the doughnut!
Arnie the Donut
These books are great! I’d love to have Pluto Gets the Call! I haven’t read that one yet. My son is obsessed with planets now. 🪐
ANY BOOK!!! They are all amazing.
Congratulations, Persephone! The good news is that you won a Laurie Keller book. The bad news is that now you have to choose. I’ll send you an email.
I would love to have Arnie the Donut! Thank you for this opportunity!
We Are Growing is a book I will use in my classroom. 🙂
I’d like to win Arnie the Doughnut! Sounds awesome and funny!
Can’t wait for this mini-class. I’d like to read Pluto Gets the Call.
Do Unto Otters sounds very interesting! Awesome!
I love Laurie Keller’s humorous picture books! I donated two books of hers to a kindergarten classroom where we read them over and over. The children laughed every time!
I would like either Arnie the Doughnut or We are growing! Thank you,
The Scrambled States of America!
Please and thank you!
I wish I could take her class!!!!!
We Are Growing!
We Are Growing! I can’t wait.
arnie the doughnut
Wow, these all sound (and look) amazing! If I win I’ll let Laurie decide what book she thinks best for a boy of ten years old, a girl that’s eight years old and a girl of 38 ….love it!
So fun (and funny)! I would love to win Arnie the Doughnut or Do Unto Otters. Hope to take a class with Laurie in the future! 🙂
I would like Arnie the Doughnut
Arnie the Doughnut is the sweetest choice for me! Thank you!
I would love arnie the donut with sprinkles and chocolate filling inside
I would love her Arnie the Doughnut chapter book or Pluto Gets the Call.
My third graders love Laurie Keller!!! I would love to meet Arnie the Doughnut! So so so cute!!!
Do Unto Otters or Pluto gets the call! I love science and otters!
Oh my goodness how exciting! My kids used to get “The Scrambled United States if America” from the library often !!! I can’t believe she is teaching a class how fun!
If I win I would like to read “Do Unto Otters.”
Thank you for offering the drawing!
Do Unto Otters
Potato Pants!
Do Unto Otters is a great book! Would be perfect for all my grandkids. Also, I would love to read Arnie the Doughnut. Sounds like a great book for my 4 year old granson.
The scrambled states of America
Gus the Dog – Choreography! LOL
I’m super curious about the ‘Do Unto Others’ book, but they all look fun!
It’s hard to decide between Pluto Gets The Call and Do Unto Otters! If I’m not too late, I choose Do Unto Otters. No wait! Never mind, that’s my choice, yeah.
Pluto Gets The Call would looks perfect for my 5 year old obsessed with outer space!
We Are Growing, please!
And thanks to everyone for the Chris read-aloud tip!
Please please Do Unto Otters❤️❤️❤️. Love love love it! But I don’t have a copy.
Thank you
I love Laurie’s books! Used them all the time when I was in the library! I also already own several. If I win, I’d like The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut chapter book. Thanks!
Do Unto Otters please. Thanks for the opportunity.
So funny and creative illustrations. Any of the books that would suit the Kindergartner would be nice. Can’t wait to read! Thank you 🙂