Humorous Books for Kids & Adults
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Funny Books for 5 year old
Dec 2011
My son said last night he wanted more funny books. We have enjoyed so much laughing together while reading stories, but you know a book stays funny for so long. SO! I want recommendations for funny books. To give you an idea of things we've really laughed at in the past at 'Pippi Longstocking' books, Dr. Suess (but we have most of them already), Arnold Loebel cracks us up! Thanks! a couple of jokesters
Here are some authors my boys (ages 6 and 8) and I have found reliably funny over the years: Mac Barnett, Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, William Steig, Mo Willems, Judith Viorst, Janet Stoeke ('Minerva Louise' books), Janet Perlman (retellings of classic fairy tales, but with penguins - trust me), Cressida Cowell (picture books and chapter books). Also the 'Amelia Bedelia' and 'Tacky the Penguin' books. Ask your local children's librarian - they always have good recommendations. Voracious Readers
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
At 5 my son absolutely LOVED Captain Underpants, and at 9 he still does. It's the one series that made me laugh over everytime I read it. So very clever. anon
books4yourkids.com This blog site is a really great resource for children's book reviews and recommendations. The owner is a very bright and creative parent of three with a large age span between the children (two boys and a girl). She has been a long time employee at a bookstore and absolutely LOVES children's books. YOU can even contact Tanya directly if you aren't finding what you are looking for. Keep her blog bookmarked and sign up for her updates, too. We have had great luck with the books we have discovered through her blog for our two children (7 and 9). happy reading and giggling marion
All of the Maurice Sendak books, also books by: Denys Cazet, and Cynthia Rylant, and one called Seven Silly Eaters (by Hoberman?). If you go to the kids' section of the library, there are dozens of funny picture books on the shelves. Carrie
For funny books, try any Mo Willems book. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus etc. Hilarious and sweet. Even my eleven-year-old still giggles. Have fun! bibliophile
http://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Whiny-Children-Bruce-Kaplan/dp/1416986898/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8=1323406762=8-1 Love this! Not very PC but really fun to read. My son and I crack up.
http://www.amazon.com/Thats-Disgusting-Francesco-Pittau/dp/1579123511/ref=sr_1_1?s=books=UTF8=1323406869=1-1 This is little boy humor at it's finest.
You might want to check out captain underpants too. Lover of fart jokes
My family loves all books by Mo Williams and the Frog and Toad stories. Anon
Run, don't walk, to the local library or bookstore, and check out the 'Minnie & Moo' series by Denys Cazet, or anything at all by Doug Cushman. (Really. *Anything* by Doug Cushman is worth your time!) While you're there, you should also take a look at Cynthia Rylant's books, especially the 'Mr. Putter & Tabby' series or the Poppleton books. Among them, these three authors kept my son and me in stitches for an amazingly long time. Morris the Moose and Amelia Bedelia are two other characters who can be pretty funny, but possibly not yet for your 5-year- old -- take a look and see what you think. Happy reading! Kathleen
Junie B Jones by Barbara Park- the whole series is hilarious. The protagonist is a precocious kindergardener. Great books to read aloud to a 5 year old. My son loved them all. We love funny too
Based on your list, I think we have very similar tastes in books! Here are some more we like: Readers: none of these are as great as Arnold Lobel, but then who is? Oliver and Amanda Pig series by Jean van Leeuwen (some of the early ones are illustrated by Lobel) The Stories Julian Tells (and others) by Ann Cameron Minnie and Moo series by Denys Cazet The Poppelton and Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant Shorter chapter books: Winnie the Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner My Father's Dragon (plus 2 sequels) by Ruth Stiles Gannett Fantastic Mr. Fox (and others) by Roald Dahl Longer chapter books: The BFG (and others) by Roald Dahl Homer Price by Robert McCloskey The World According to Humphrey (and others) by Betty Birney Freddy the Pig series by Walter Brooks Half Magic by Edgar Eager Tum Tum and Nutmeg by Emily Bearn Also a plug for the new Winnie the Pooh movie that came out last summer. My 8 year old, 5 year old and I all laughed out loud--the humor is character and situation-based without being hip or snarky at all. Really fun. give me more Frog and Toad!
We love reading funny books with our 6-year-old daughter, so it is hard to know where to start. Along the lines of Seuss, Mo Willems is wonderful (was a Sesame Street writer). We love both Elephant & PIggie and the Pigeon series. Very simple language and yet extremely creative and funny. Also love Mercer Mayer Little Critter series. Closer to chapter books are Amelia Bedelia, which I read as a kid. Amelia takes everything literallly, so an order to plant bulbs results in actual light bulbs in pots. Shel Silverstein's books of poems (Where the Sidewalk Ends, etc).I still remember some of the poems I read as a kid and chuckle. How about some other classics that are very funny -- original Winnie the Pooh stories, Alice in Wonderland (abridged might be best), the Ramona series, and Eloise. Hope this helps-- have fun! Marie
I already posted, but thought of another book-- a new favorite: 'Interrupting Chicken.' A rooster tells his series of classic tales, only to be interrupted each time, with his son altering the ending of the story--with hilarious results. Marie
Richard Scarry. In fact, in my kids first grade class they called Richard Scarry's book 'the funny book.' Lot's of slapstick but w/ subtle humor for grown-ups. Also a 'hunt for goldbug' feature that is fun (like where's waldo but not as overwhelming) Loves Richard Scarry
How about books by Ann Cameron? The Stories Julian Tells has many amusing tales. book lover
Laugh-out-loud books for grown-ups
Dec 2007
I am looking for some laugh-out-loud books for myself, to add a bit of humor to my day. I have enjoyed Funny in Farsi, and David Sedaris' books. Any ideas or suggestions? Need to laugh more
here's a few, off the top of my head: Thank You For Smoking .. Bridget Jones' Diary .. The White Boy's Shuffle .. signed, book junky
I have a couple of recommendations for you. Found a new author, Jennifer Colt, who I think is the Carl Hiassen of Southern California. She has a hysterical series, all set in LA, and just released her 4th book, which I'm ordering for some Christmas gifts, titled ''Con Artist of Catalina Island.'' It's available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/104-8129879-5495930?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks=jennifer+colt . Previous books are ''Butcher of Beverly Hills,'' ''Mangler of Malibu Canyon,'' ''Vampire of Venice Beach.'' All very funny and do a great job of poking fun at LA and a lot of sterotypes (plastic surgery, aliens, religious cults, goth culture, the Rodeo Drive set). Also just read Bill Bryson's ''A Walk in the Woods,'' and ''Lost Continent'' and loved both of them. Mary Thomas
Anything by Dave Barry. Whenever I read one of his books I have to first make sure I have recently gone to the bathroom because I laugh so hard. Also we subscribe to the Funny Times, a monthly newspaper with cartoons and articles by humorists including Dave Barry and others. It's usually pretty funny. G
Well, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole comes to mind immediately. As does Tom Robbins-- Still Life with Woodpecker, Jitterbug Perfume, Another Roadside Attraction-- very funny! LogicalMama
I am chuckling reading Nora Ephron's ''I Feel Bad About My Neck''....very fun and wondered if you want to exchange giggle books? I laughed hard reading Amy Sedaris's ''I like You, Entertaining Under The Influence'' well, that one I passed on and had to buy again because it is so great and has good recipes. I love autobiographies in general for yuks. Barry White's is hilarious. The first Elisabeth Taylor autobio is a scream also. One of the funniest ever was a bio of Alma Spreckles oh my! I read Tin Tin books to the boys and Blistering blue barnicles! They are funny.... How about us having a goofy book club?
I have not had a chance to read this yet but my girfriend Back East just emailed me the following
''I started a new book last night while I was in the Greenwich Library. It is called More Sand in My Bra, a sequel to Sand in my Bra. It is a collection of stories from funny women about traveling. I was laughing so hard I was crying and had to leave the library. My favorite story was entitled ''Booty Call'', totally not what you think.''
That's a ringing endorsement if you ask me! -Like a good laugh too
I just wanted to chime in with a few great ones I've read lately. One is Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. It's dark humor, I found it funny. I've also read some Zadie Smith, they're On Beauty and White Teeth. She writes fiction but her characters are great! Thanks everyone else for recommendations, I'm heading to amazon right now Funny Junkie
I can recommend both of the books by Jimmy Buffett. They are both amusing, easy to read, light hearted books. Not strictly comedy, but some funny parts there.
I also really enjoy Nick Hornby, especially About a Boy and High Fidelity. And I guess the soccer book as well, if you like soccer. Bryan
Easy and extremely funny reads: Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. There are 7 of them, including the most recent, ''Michael Tolliver Lives.'' These are better than you remember them. I bought them at a rummage sale and first listened to my husband giggling nonstop before I picked them up, then loaned them to several friends. Each one is candy, and will probably take less than a week, and will keep you rolling on the floor. But I caution you that you may stay up half the night just to see how he wraps it all up. And it's all very '70s-San Francisco. It's a serial, and many of the characters live on from one novel to the next. website: armisteadmaupin.com.
Almost anything by Christopher Moore. Check out his website: http://www.chrismoore.com/. Some favorites include: You Suck, a love story (poor guy falls in love with a vampire...), Bloodsucking fiends (I guess it's a prequel, can't remember, about how that poor woman accidentally became a vampire). Both set in SF. Fluke, which is set on Maui, about whales, sort of, is embarrassingly laugh-out-loud funny, though the last third is just plain weird. Which reminds me: these books are very funny, and almost all of them have a part which so strange as to make you wonder if the author is actually sane. Good ones to start with for the holiday season: Lamb, or the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal (come on, doesn't the title just call out to you? And it's actually really well researched so you can even learn a little about Holy Land history and be irreverent at the same time). And just in time for Christmas, The Stupidest Angel. And Practical Demonkeeping, which is set in a made-up place kind of like Mendocino/Carmel/Santa Cruz, has one extremely uncomfortable character, but otherwise is ultimately... ''heartwarming'' is too strong a word. I will warn you that all the books are DARKLY funny, a bit on the weirdly violent side, and can make you feel like you are experiencing someone's strange drug trip, mildly nauseated. (some of them weirder than others.) And many characters show up in other novels. give me a few weeks and I'll recall some others... Janet