Cute. The boys liked the characters, but didn't quite get the humor. ( )

This story is very good for showing how one can use their imagination in creative ways to entertain and solve a problem. It also does a good job of playing with words in nuanced ways that encourage readers to think about the way that language works and all of the fun that can be had from understanding language. A great part of this book is the last story which contains recursions to all of the important details in the rest of the book, helping to reinforce the readers ability to recall information. It also shows the protagonists own version of a simple story and the process of creating their own tale, complete with editing marks. A very good read for encouraging an imaginative engagement with reading.

Twin sisters Ling and Ting, whose story began in Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same and continued in Ling & Ting Share a Birthday, return in this third early-reader story collection devoted to their adventures. In this entry in the series, the sisters enjoy some silly times together, planting cupcake gardens, swinging higher than the trees (even when those trees reach into outer space), and creating an amusing fairy-tale about two bunnies named Ling and Ting...

Like its predecessors, Ling & Ting: Twice As Silly was an engaging read, with two appealing characters that beginning readers will identify with and take to heart. I like the way that Grace Lin emphasizes both the individual characteristics of each sister, and the many things they have in common. It's great to see more diversity in the world of early-readers, and Ling and Ting will no doubt be particularly welcome to Asian-American children and their parents, who look to see themselves reflected in the children's books they read. That said, the sense of humor here, and the loving and very close bond between the sisters, will also give this series a broad appeal to all children. The illustrations, which the author has stated were inspired by the children's textbook art of the 1950s, were done in gouache on watercolor paper, and were bright and appealing. Recommended to any beginning reader looking for fun stories. ( )

Ling and Ting are fun character who give asian americans an opportunity to see themselves in a story. Most children will identify with Ling and Ting regardless of their cultural heritage. I love this early reader series. ( )

I enjoyed the previous Ling & Ting book, but then somehow forgot about the series. Cybils brought it back to my attention and I remembered how fun it was.

As the title says, this is all about being silly. Ling and Ting get up to all sorts of silly tricks and jokes from planting cupcakes to a silly plan to get an apple or even writing a silly story. Lin's art is simple but sweet. The slightly bumpy lines give it a homemade feeling that's very attractive.

These follow a classic easy reader format. Simple, short sentences with a surprise at the end of each brief story. The text is a level 2 or 3, depending on what system/publisher you're looking at and I'd say is just right for an intermediate easy reader.

What I really like about these books, besides the humor and general fun, is how the girls' culture is seamlessly part of the story. The clothing and backgrounds make me think the story is set in an older time period, maybe 1950s or 1960s, and it's like someone went back in history and wrote a book about the kids that were always there but nobody noticed. Their culture as Chinese-Americans is included in little things, like painting toys red for luck, but they don't celebrate specific holidays to show their ethnicity (a tired device as far as I'm concerned). The focus of the story is on the humor and how the girls are the same and different as twins.

Verdict: While I mostly focus on purchasing easy readers for younger readers at the very beginning of learning to read, I do have a smaller number of classic and carefully selected easy readers for those who are more at an intermediate stage. Ling & Ting is a series that fits in well and I definitely recommend them.

ISBN: 9780316184021; Published 2014 by Little Brown and Company; Borrowed from another library in my consortium