Here’s a book that’s funny; I mean REALLY funny. Award-winning humor columnist Tim Bete is the Dave Barry for parents of young kids, so if you like to laugh, then you’ll love reading this one.

In fact, my family could tell whenever I was reading it because they’d hear my annoying, “HA! HA! HA!” from every room of the house. I couldn’t put it down because it felt so great to laugh. I’ve decided it’s a much easier route to toning than sit-ups. Just read this book and you’ll get a major abdominal workout!

The book is divided into 19 short chapters, each focusing on one area of parenting young children. With titles such as “Five Loaves, Two Fish — What, No Tarter Sauce?” “Daddy’s NOT going to Buy You a Mockingbird,” and “In the Beginning, There Was No Duct Tape,” you can get an idea of how funny Bete is.

Laughter is important for stressed-out parents. We may feel like we’re the only one dealing with certain behavior issues — single parents, especially, may have no one who can share the burden. But a book like this one helps fill in the gaps.

This would make a great gift for any dad – but I know moms will love it too. Bete lets you peek into his house and show you how he turns those moments of “Uh-oh” (the tooth fairy forgot to visit…) into moments of “Ah-ha! Close your eyes and she’ll leave you a surprise.” (It may even be money…or other unknown contents from a rapidly emptied pocket!)

I can’t tell you how hard I laughed when the author described what it’s like to change a baby’s diaper in an airplane bathroom. Yes, I’ve done it! Most parents can relate to the strange places you’re forced to do such a chore.

And how insane we feel when we have to read the same book over and over (AND OVER) again. “I tried sliding it under a chair cushion,” he writes about his son wanting to hear The Lion King every time his wife had a prenatal visit. “But no matter where I hid it, it always appeared at the top of the book pile at our next visit.” To this day, “Hakuna Matata” sends shivers up his spine “as if I heard the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.”

If you’re a group leader for any kind of parent organization, this book would be great to have for a break-the-ice reading or gift for new members. You’ll unite every listener who has been there, done that…or is in the midst of being there, doing that.

Although each chapter focuses on a modern parenting miracle, the biggest miracle of all will be how you can put this book down!

Take a peek at Tim Bete’s site. He recently won the 2005 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Web Site Award, along with some other nice honors (such as being a top 10 bestseller in Amazon.com’s parenting humor category.) He’s currently the director of the University of Dayton’s Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. See, I told you this guy is funny!

Tim Bete is also a member of the Christian Humor Writers’ group. You can read what others are saying about his book here.

[Disclosure: I received this book from Mind & Media as a gift from the publisher.]