Make ’Em Laugh: Funny Books to Hook Young Readers
- Susan Koehler
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
“Make 'Em Laugh” is one of many brilliant Singin’ in the Rain numbers, but it’s also a great rule of thumb when finding books for reluctant young readers. It's no joke: humor is a hero among children. According to Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report, 63% of kids want books that make them laugh.
I’ve had some requests for book recommendations lately, and I can’t think of a better place to start than books that will tickle young readers. There are plenty of funny books to find, so this list is by no means complete. However, allow me to present nine of our family’s favorite giggle-getters, both current and classic.
Picture Books
written by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
The title offers a hint to the book’s hilarity: irony. It turns out the dog is sick, and the cat has to fill in for him. Watching a cat being asked to perform a dog’s tasks is already pretty funny, but the interaction of the text and illustrations puts this one over the top. Other books in this series include See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog and See the Ghost: Three Stories About Things You Cannot See.
We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
Written and illustrated by Mo Willems
This is a book in Mo Willems’s Elephant and Piggie series, and honestly, I could have picked any of these books to list here. In this story, the two funny friends discover and begin to interact with their readers. The uniqueness of this book's point of view immediately engages and delights children. This series generally deals with things that are very familiar to young young kids, like having to wait or not wanting to go to bed. Throw in some of Willems’s pigeon books and enjoy the nonstop laughter!
Written and illustrated by Peter Brown
I only recently discovered this book thanks to a funny friend. Lucille Beatrice Bear is very excited about making a friend, but she goes about it in all the wrong ways. Her exuberant, misguided actions are pretty funny, and the end is pretty sweet. This author-illustrator is amazingly versatile. In addition to other fun picture books like Mr. Tiger Goes Wild and Children Make Terrible Pets, he is known for the wildly popular The Wild Robot.
Chapter Books
written by Dan Gutman
In the author’s own words, “In the first My Weird School book ever, second-grade teacher Miss Daisy is in over her head at Ella Mentary School. She doesn't even know how to add or subtract!” Kids who are beginning to become independent readers devour the chapter books in this series, and there are plenty of them on the menu! Dan Gutman is both a prolific author and a master of humor among his young audience.
written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Brian Biggs
This is the first book in a sci-fi/humor series from an author with a long line of highly engaging, humorous books. This particular title offers a lightning strike that brings robots Klink and Klank, created in a garage laboratory, to life. The quirky humor in this series is reminiscent of Scieszka’s Time Warp Trio, a classic series that blends time travel, unexpected mishaps, and lots of comedy. Scieszka is a strong proponent of getting boys to read, as evidenced by his long-time dedication to Guys Read. Take a look at The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales for a stand-alone taste of his humor.
written by Barbara Park and illustrated by Denise Brunkus
This title introduces Barbara Park's highly-opinionated female protagonist to kindergarten, and as with the entire series, her hilarious tale and feisty personality bring humor to some of the very real fears and anxieties faced by children. Many adults express a concern that Junie B’s use of language – from words like “stupid” to grammatical misdirects like “I runned speedy quick” – will send the wrong message to children. I’ve seen a LOT of kids enjoy these books, and I’ve never seen one of them look to Junie B. Jones as a model of linguistic proficiency. If her words concern you, I suggest sharing these books as read-alouds. You and your child can laugh together! What better way to create a positive association with books? Author Barbara Park left this world too soon, but she left behind hilarious and heartwarming treasures for generations to enjoy.
Graphic Novels
written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey
I had to choose one book here to represent volumes of humor. Choose any Dav Pilkey book – go to the Dog Man series, the Cat Kid Series, Captain Underpants – and kids will soon be hooked on the humor. In Dog Man, the personas George and Harrold create their own comic book hero, and we are reading their creation. The genius of this technique is that Pilkey gets to write and draw from the mind of a child – a mind he understands quite well. Kids love it, and his repeated appearances on The New York Times Best Seller list in an age where kids’ book sales are suffering lets you know how in tune with kids he is.
written and illustrated by Rachel Renée Russell
This book introduced a female protagonist to rival many of the male-led graphic novels that were becoming popular in the early 2000s. Nikki handles her flawed but funny adjustment to middle school by recording it all in her diary. The series that followed this initial book remains popular among tween audiences because it’s both hilarious and heartwarming while also being highly relatable. The author has a new spin-off series called The Misadventures of Max Crumbly that features an equally awkward male protagonist.
written and illustrated by John Patrick Green
Mango and Brash are spies…and they’re alligators. See? It's already funny. These two InvestiGators wear disguises, go undercover, and somehow manage to root out evil and save the day. Kids will giggle at their “Very Exciting Spy Technology” and toilet-based travel techniques. And best of all, there’s an entire series. These clever, quirky books are pure fun.
Research and book sales tell us that reading is on a downward trend. Among the many reasons, we all know that screens have created a lot of competition for books when it comes to getting and keeping kids’ attention. That doesn’t make screens evil; instead, it raises the bar on our efforts to find books that will draw kids to them.
One way to hook kids on books is to "Make 'Em Laugh!" Hmm...why do I love Singin’ in the Rain so much? Why can I watch it over and over again? Because it makes me laugh! Over and over again! And because warm emotional connections were formed by watching it so many times with people I love.
Like a kid’s favorite joke or my favorite movie, the books I've listed are funny over and over and over again. That means reading, rereading, and rereading again…and that’s great! Share some laughs, build a positive emotional context around reading, and score one for books.
If you have some favorite funny books for young readers, be sure to share a comment!
"The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog" and "Officer Buckle and Gloria" have always been favorites at our house. My now 4-year-old grandson howls at the antics of that pigeon and duckling!