“What’s so funny?” I hear you ask. turns out, heaps of stuff is funny in the world of kid lit! I am a sucka for a good old fashioned laugh. It brings me so much joy to see the bright eyes and big smiles on a child who has just heard the funniest book ever! Books designed to teach children an important life lesson are totally my bag, but sometimes a big belly laugh is just as important. Nonsensical stories, hilarious pictures and witty language make for a magical “haha!”
So, here is a collection of some of my favourite funny picture books. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Trust me, there are millions more! Some of these are old, some are new. But all of them… HILARIOUS!
A delicious New York Times bestseller! Man, does it have some kick!
Did you know that dragons love Tacos! I’m talking, all sorts of tacos! If you want to catch a dragon one day… set a taco trap! Here’s the thing though. Tacos need salsa, and salsa is spicy. And dragons are already super spicy. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. What do you think happens when a dragon eats spicy salsa? Ha! you guessed it! Red hot trouble is a comin!
This laugh-until-salsa-comes-out-of-your-nose tale is a goodie!!
As a follow on activity I can’t go past getting in the kitchen with your little readers and making tacos! Enjoy prepping and cooking foods as a family and then gobble up those tacos just like dragon!
An unexplained noise leads to pandemonium among the animals. The fox, the elephant, even the big brown bear are beyond terrified of the Terrible Plop. Only the littlest bunny learns not to panic when the sky—or something else up there—is falling. I love how the biggest, bravest creatures are reduced by their terror, and the teeny little bunny is the brave one.
Bright illustrations and my fave, rhyming text, combine to make this a perfect read-aloud story for little readers. It’s a nice way to show little kids that plops in the day or plops in the night aren’t nearly as scary as they might seem.
Encourage your little reader to make their own rhyming story just like this gem!
These aliens aren’t visiting Earth to take over the planet, they are coming to take our underpants! What?!
You see, these aliens don’t have enough undies up in space so they travel down to Earth to begin their mischievous adventure!! It’s total nonsense, but the kids will surely love it! Perhaps the little ones will keep a closer eye on their undies on the washing line after reading this one!!
Can you make a crafty alien with a pair of undies on? Get the scrap paper, scissors, glue and markers and make a cut and pasted collage of an alien wearing undies! Great for fine motor skill development and very relevant to the story!
Nicholas Ickle is trying to tell a story, but every time he starts, his story gets hijacked by other book characters. His growing frustration is evident in the pictures and each page his anger just escalates! The kids love this one because they share his frustration! They want to hear what he is trying to say just as much as Nicholas wants to tell his story!
I wonder if Nicholas will ever get to tell us what he is trying to say?! You’ll have to grab this book to see! Trust me, your kids will love it and you will too!
Ask your little reader to make a prediction posing the question “What do you think Nicholas is trying to say?” Brainstorming these ideas may even lend itself to your little reader writing Nicholas’ story in a part 2 version of this book.
Poor Floyd. His kite gets stuck in a tree, and he’s determined to get it out. But how? He makes the choice to throw up his shoe to knock down the kite! Uh-Oh! It too gets stuck. And the only logical course of action . . . is to throw his other shoe. Only now it’s stuck too! What else does he throw up there? A boat or his front door? How about both and much much more!
Oliver Jeffers is genius! This story is like one of those movies with never ending bad luck! Perfect humour for the kiddies! His trademark pictures are vibrant and engaging and the silliness of it all is bound to put a smile on your little reader’s face!
Help your little reader to write a short story just like this one! What other weird and wonderful things can they throw up to try to knock out that kite? A baby brother or sister perhaps?!
A worm’s diary?? That’s strange! But actually, this worm is just like a normal kid. He lives with his parents, plays with his friends, and even goes to school. But unlike you or me, he never has to take a bath, he gets to eat his homework, Oh, and his head looks a lot like his bum! Ha!
This book is cleverly written, and just the idea of a worm journal is super funny for the little guys! journal about the daily doings and the hidden world of a lovable underground dweller. Have a read with your little ones and see what this underground dweller gets up to!
Some cool follow up activities for this book could be to start a worm farm (if you have a kid who loves to get into nature) or even encourage them to keep a journal of their own day to day doings! It’s great writing practise!
Yawwwwn! A book with no pictures? Boring!! Am I right? WRONG!
This book is absolutely hilarious! It’s pretty much about nothing! That’s right, nothing, nonsense, foolishness and bla blah all in one! Made up language and crazy sounds make the kids roar wit laughter. When the little ones hear an adult reading this silly book it makes them laugh even more! Watching the adults looks silly is priceless to them!
Hey, what kind of book is this, anyway? No one really knows. but by heck it’s freaking funny!
Here’s an abstract idea! See if your little reader can illustrate this book. See how they interpret they text and silly words. I wonder what this all means to them.
Now it’s time to be serious! No silliness or funny business allowed! No clowns, and definitely no shenanigans. A serious book is always respectful and, well, serious! But not Zebra! Nope, he aint serious. And nor are his mischievous friends ruining the book with their crazy antics!
This book is a total celebration of writing and creativity. Hilarious in the way it invites reader participation and engagement. It encourages little kids to write their own stories and illustrate like a pro! See what your little reader comes up with! Nonsensical or heart felt, who cares what they write. Just encourage them to play with words!
This book always gets the biggest laughs when I read it to my students. It’s time for the little red chicken’s bedtime story —and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But this cheeky chicken can’t help herself!
In this book, Papa is trying to get through some popular stories like Chicken Little or Little Red Riding Hood. But little chicken continues to interrupt and elaborate on her own version of the story. papa is so frustrated and the little chicken just cannot control her ideas and outbursts!
In the end it’s the little red chicken’s turn to tell a story, but will her yawning papa make it to the end without his own kind of interrupting? Zzzzzzzzzzz! Have a read and see!
I love the idea of making puppets for this follow up activity. Make two chicken puppets and get your little readers to role play the two characters. I have done this with 5 year olds before and let me tell you, it’s always a laugh!
Thanks for having a laugh with me!
Happy Reading Readers!
A 🙂
