I think that some of the humor in the books is aimed at adults and people who understand the world a bit better than kids. I had the same experience when reading *LOTR* to my kids when they were young. They wanted to skip over some of the best parts because of lack of action.

I've been reading it to my kids, but they aren't digging it as much as I expected. Perhaps they are still a little young. 

Scoresby

It was a good series, wasn’t it? When I saw the movie I was really disappointed. I guess the printed word and your own imagination is much better than a director’s vision of what something should look like.