Funny books to make you laugh
This month, Primary English’s Book Expert in Residence, Joy Court, tells us her choices to get children laughing out loud over the summer holidays.
With the holidays fast approaching I am sure everybody is thinking about how to keep children reading over the summer, so the theme this month is Humour. Funny books are the perfect way to engage children’s interest, which also makes them great read-alouds for an end of the day / end of the term classroom treat. Funny books are often neglected when it comes to prizes and awards which makes The Lollies so important. Do check out the recently announced shortlists as well and get your class to join in the voting.
You’re Called What? Kes Gray and Nikki Dyson. Macmillan, 2018, pp32, £6.99 ISBN: 978-1509821440
Kes Gray is the genius behind the Oi Frog series, which I am quite sure you all must have, but this is perhaps a less well-known marvel. The simple concept is that animals are queuing up at the Ministry of Silly Animal Names to get their names changed. If you were called a Tassled Wobbegong wouldn’t you do the same? Children will delight in the ridiculous names and the very expressive illustrations, but the absolute joy is that these are real creatures and there are photographs and fact files about each creature at the back of the book. Can you guess why the reclusive Aha Ha Wasp was so named?
Read the Book Lemmings! Ame Dyckman and Zachariah OHora. Andersen Press, 2018, pp40, £6.99. ISBN: 978-1783446551
A wonderfully witty story about the importance of reading for information. Foxy’s book tells him that, contrary to popular opinion, lemmings don’t jump off cliffs, but the trouble is the very cute little lemmings have not read the book and they merrily hurl themselves into the sea again and again. If only Foxy can get them to read the book, then he won’t need to keep rescuing them. The deliciously deadpan narrative and flat, stylised artwork accentuate the absurdity of this stylish and very clever picture book that has such a great message.
The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice. A.F.Harrold and Mini Grey. Bloomsbury, 2020, pp160, £14.99. ISBN: 978-1526618016
This book is the absolute antidote to anybody, child or adult, who thinks poetry is not pleasurable, combining beautifully clever and entirely daft writing and sublimely comic illustrations. This is a real celebration of what you can do with words and a nice spin on cautionary tales. The advice comes in four sections featuring food, animals, school and the human condition (or miscellaneous other subjects that’s didn’t fit elsewhere). Don’t miss the Advice-a-Tron if ever you don’t know what to say when a friend asks for advice (there is also a blank to copy and create your own and other little creative inspirations dotted throughout the book). The index is an absolute joy to behold too- even if you are not a librarian! I suspect that children will particularly adore the rude parrot who keeps popping up.
The Day the Screens Went Blank. Danny Wallace and Gemma Correll. Simon & Schuster, 2021, pp240, £6.99. ISBN: 978-1471196881
The author of the best-selling Hamish series has produced an hilarious book for our times based on the premise of just what would we do if all the world’s screen-based technology just stopped working? No computers, no cash machines, no CCTV, no sat nav, no post, no email, and even no shopping. The way the world has changed during lockdown will make this predicament seem even worse! Stella’s family sets off to check on Grandma on the other side of the country because they can’t reach her on Skype and the road trip turns into a catalogue of disasters. Stella makes a great narrator of the way her family cope with the pitfalls that would beset us all if all the screens went blank, while also gently leading us all to see that there could actually be some benefits.
The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife. Maz Evans and Chris Jevons. Hodder, 2021, pp240, £6.99 ISBN: 978-1444957679
This author’s Who Let the Gods Out series was a huge hit and I strongly suspect that Scarlett Fife will go the same way. Scarlett is 10, in Year 5 and she is very angry at the injustices in her life, which are situations which every child can recognise and relate to. There is a wonderful diversity of characters represented too. The narrative voice of Scarlett is pitch perfect: true to life, and very funny. Her favourite subject is Maths. Maths makes sense, the answers always being the same, but English is strange. Scarlett’s many misconceptions of slang or sayings are hilarious and her friend Maisie adds to the hysteria with her misheard Latin/French: “You just have to accept it… William U is Star of the Week. It’s a feta company.” This is triumphant comic writing, but there are wonderful moments of wisdom and valuable life lessons as Scarlett develops and grows in maturity and understanding of the strains her Mum is under- all of which help her get her feelings under control. You could make great use of this two chapter sampler from the publisher. I defy any child not to demand to read on.
If you’d like to read more of Joy’s funny book recommendations, just click on the link below to download her July 2021 Reading With Joy booklist.