My 12 yo daughter, Aarini loves reading funny books. She has been going through her personal collection during lockdown and re-reading many of them. She highly recommends the following books, especially when you’re looking for a laugh (actually fits of laughter) during lockdown or otherwise… Posting this on her behalf.
1. I Need To Pee by Neha Singh (read Payal’s review here)
This book is for keeps. We read the above review and had to buy it. It’s meant for 5 years+ and a must must have for every child. The concept and illustrations are exceptional. I wish I could draw like that.
2. Timmi in Tangles by Shals Mahajan
I suspect my Mom bought this book for herself, though she insists it belongs in my bookshelf. There are 4 really funny stories about Timmi who is a young girl who has make-believe friends and hilarious encounters. The illustrations are captivating adding to the silliness of each story. Idliamma is my favourite make-believe character. Age group: 5-8 years
All the Duckbill hOle books are highly recommended – they all are very engaging. Petu Pumpkin books are super funny as well. The bookset of 25 hOle books is also available and works out awesome for gifting throughout the year!
3. Jake’s Cooking Craze by Ken Spillman
If your child is a junior masterchef in the making, he/she just has to have this book! It’s hilarious and also involved culinary skills of serving snails! There are other books in this Jake series which I intend to read. Mom tells me the author is an award winning one. Age: 6-8 years
4. Judy Moody & Stink – The Big Bad Blackout
5. Judy Moody & Stink – The Holly Joliday
Be sure to buy at least one of the series. Also you might want to look for the rest at your library. They are a brother and sister, north pole – south pole duo who do crazy things with their family. Humourous for 6-9 year olds. To give you an idea, their Grandma) has a pug, was pet-sitting a ferret and a corn snake named Candy Corn.
6. Captain Underpants And The Perilous Plot Of Professor Poopypants
You might have convince your parents to let you buy one of these books. Disclaimer – these books are so funny you might want to keep an extra pair of underpants handy! They are really silly so most parents don’t get why we kids like to read such books. Tell them, after school a child needs to unwind. Worked for me :). For 6 years+
ALL OF DAV PILKEY’S BOOKS ARE FUNNY AND CAN BE FOUND HERE ON AMAZON.
7. The Girl Who Ironed Her Hair and Other Stories by Lalita Iyer
Lalita Iyer’s short stories are always quirky. When my mom asked me if she should order this book for me, I saw the title and since I have already have another book of short stories by this author I immediately said yes.
Disclaimer: There are fart stories in this book. And a mom who is more quirky than mine! Each story has a ridiculously funny incident in it. A must have for 6 years+.
8. Moin and the Monster by Anushka Ravishankar
If you want to encourage your kid to be creative – this is the perfect read. It’s a crazy-funny book! Moin needs to draw the banana loving pink Monster for it to show its face (to give it a body to its voice). But there are a lot of misunderstandings between the way the monster describes himself and the way Moin draws him! Age: 6-8 years
9. What reggie did on the weekend
I discovered this book 5 years ago on my kindle, and re-read it during lockdown.
It’s all about farts, poop and vomit. And poems about them. There is also a guy who hates everything, a potato baby to replace the real baby, and a goat who ate the potato baby!! My mom is not too impressed with this description and keeps asking me why is such a book so appealing. My answer is simple: BUT IT’S FUNNYYYYY, MOM! Age: 6 years+
10. Comic Guy – Our Crazy Class Election
A graphic book similar to Big Nate series, like the name suggests, it’s a crazy! Guy Maloney has to go up against Tank the Bully, and Ollie the pet monkey in their crazy class election. Funny and punny! Age: 6-9 years
11. The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula by Asha Nehemiah (read review in the comment section of this post)
Another really funny read. Right from the cover to the storyline. Imagine having a hair oil with a secret formula! The names are really long and funny and keeps the reader in fits of laughter (and sometimes coughing fits as well). For 7 years+
12. The Fried Frog and other funny freaky foodie feisty poems.
If you like all things nonsense, THIS is your kind of book! It has food, funny things about food, funny kinds of food, funny things that people do for food. It is one of the most creative books I have read. It gives you ideas on how you can write nonsensical poems and get away with it! The illustrations are just as funny. Age group: 8-12 years.
13. George’s Marvellous Medicine (read detailed review here)
This is my favourite Dahl book. The notion that one can mix all sorts of random things like flea medicine, 500 purple pills and floor polish to make a magic potion that makes his super mean grandma first become a giant, and then shrink until she disappears. Age 8 years+
14. Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Long Haul
I find all of the books in the series to be amazing. My mom may not agree with me, but she has given up and decided to allow me some JLT reading time. For those who don’t know, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are super funny graphic novels. I really like this one because it is a travel diary or as Greg likes to call it a J-O-U-R-N-A-L. Every tween can relate to these books. Age: 9+ years.
My mom is a huge Tintin fan. It’s like she has been waiting her whole life for me to read the adventures of Tintin with her and laugh out loud. Well not her whole life, but for the last couple of years she keeps giving me a pile of Tintin books to read during my school holidays. Last summer, I finally fell off the bed while reading this particular Tintin book. I actually started laughing uncontrollably at night and rolled off the bed. My mom looked very pleased. The books are full of funny adventures. I still don’t know which one is my favourite but every child must read them. Age: 10 years+
I strongly recommend you grab these books whenever you can. When you do, tell me which parts you liked the most!
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the books have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
