Customer Reviews

The Happy Hocky Family

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is very funny and well animated. It is filled with a lot of dry humor that will probably go over the childs head. As I read it to my kids, I couldn't keep myself from laughing. This book is stinking funny!

My husband, my 2-year-old daughter, and I are huge fans of the sequel - "The Happy Hockey Family moves to the country." So we were all very excited to get our hands on this book also. It is, as expected, a very funny, wry satire that is well-drawn and fun to read, BUT unlike the sequel it is really totally inappropriate for a small child. The book contains a segment about the very, very scary monsters that come in through the windows at night which is very frightening. So be warned that it is really a book for older kids (and parents) to enjoy.

This book is a little kid book, but I'm 13 and it still made me laugh with joy. This book is very simple yet funny about a little twisted family. I think everyone should read this book because it would make the grumpiest person.

I loved reading the Happy Hocky family to my both of my children. Just as my daughter was approaching school age, I saw her reading the Happy Hocky family. It was the first independent reading she did.
Yesterday evening my son, who is the same age now, got the HHF out of the bookcase... and read a bit of it to me.
So, both of them have started independent reading with the same book.
I think the "magic" is in the fact that the repetition helps kids get their heads around the reading part -- while the dry humour helps the parents come back to the book where if it were real Dick and Jane stuff, they wouldn't be able to stand it.
If your children are in the age group 3-5 I strongly suggest you get this book. It's a reading magnet.

We have never read a funnier childrens book as this one. You and your whole family will laugh out loud together.

My name is Carolyn Garcia, and I have a book coming out called Moonboy.

Lane Smith is someone who has greatly inspired me and I think he is the best children's book illustrator/author out there.

When I see that a children's book has been written and illustrated by the same person, I ususally find some weakness in the story line or the visual presentation. Lane Smith has beat the pattern and authored a unique and entertaining book that caused my three children (ages 3, 11, and 12)to laugh out loud. The illustrations are marvelously spare, yet masterfully efficient in portraying the Happy quirky Hocky family. Did I tell you that I laughed out loud as well? I love sophisticated humour for kids; this is a fun book. I hope Lane Smith gives us more Hocky Family stories.

I was introduced to this book when I was 17 and in a training program to be a camp counselor for girls. It changed my life. I bought my own copy and have read it to most every group of kids I've worked with in a camp setting since 2000. It's fantastic and the kids BEG to have it read to them every time. It's instant entertainment and whether the kids are first-timers to hearing it or it's their ninth time hearing it, they still flock to me when I hold up the book. Magic, thy name is Happy Hocky Family. Even the staff love it and many have approached me with complaints that they haven't heard it yet. Sometimes I omit the monster story because I read it to kids who are in an outdoor setting, have vivid imaginations and plenty of noises to fuel those imaginations. I didn't want children in my cabin in the middle of the night scared of the normal noises because I read them a story about a monster who comes in through windows. If my children are older I will read the entire book. The nice thing about this book is that omitting one or two stories you don't think are wise to include is easy and doesn't interrupt the flow of the book at all!

My stars must have been in alignment today because I found a copy in hardback at the local used book store and it made me SO happy. I have a copy of The Happy Hocky Family in hardback. Do YOU have a copy of the Happy Hocky Family in hardback? I do. Hee hee! If you'd like to see my reading of the book to children and the way my 4-6th grade girls responded to it, you can find it on YouTube. The title of the video is Dizzie Reading Happy Hocky Family and it's in 2 parts. You can see where I omitted the monster story and the Cousin Stinky/Toy Story to make it more age appropriate. The kids only noticed the second time and the flow wasn't interrupted at all.

This is a lesson every child and adult should learn, how to look at the bright side of what you are dealt in life. If memory serves me correctly, I read this book to my sons starting 6 or 7 years ago. For a long time it was almost a nightly read. The boys were 6 and 11 at the time. All three of us laughed every single time we read this.

To this day, we still look at eachother and say, "Toys, What are toys, we don't have any toys," whenever somebody asks about something silly. Or one will just say, cousin stinky, and we all laugh.

This is a genuinely funny book. It teaches a wonderful lesson, things go wrong in the world (your balloon pops, your coat gets dirty, cousin stinky likes to break toys) and how you react to those things is important. Looking on the bright side of those events will make much happier people.

The illustrations are fun. The language is fun. It's fun to read out loud. And what kid wouldn't love saying cousin stinky? And honestly, it's all in how you read to your child that makes this book fun and appropriate.

The perfect companion to this book, the dumb bunny family, Dumb Bunnies Collection. We still love to talk about hammering up Valentine's hearts on the windows for Christmas.

As a student with a english project, this book made my job as the reader a wonderful experience. This book brought me back to the time when I was first learning to read. Any first reader should be able to read this book, and at the same time, enjoy it!! The Happy Hocky Family reminds me of the tv show, Rollie Pollie Ollie aired on Nickelodeon. Instead of having your child watch tv, why not go and pick this book up? It is a very simple read, with vocabulary and short stories little kids should understand. I give this book a 2 thumbs up! This is a must read!