Now, this is a silly read-aloud for the older kids

Thanks to a mention on Leonie's blog , I sought and obtained a rather silly book written in the late 1890's in England. Written by Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat -- (to say nothing of the dog) is a hilarious classic about boating on the Thames with three middle-income clerks. The sequel, written 10 years later, is titled, Three Men on the Bummel. This one takes the same three men on a cycling tour of Germany.

This is the kind of book that you read a bit of -- then need to read the same bit to your husband or kids -- then back to reading to yourself because you wouldn't want to let them hear all of it.....

This pre-dates P.G. Wodehouse by about 5 years (Wodehouse wrote his first novel around 1905) or so and yet it may just be where Wodehouse got his style. When Jerome K. Jerome wrote these books, they were severely panned by the literary establishment -- but the common folk loved them and they truly became "instant classics".