I can’t count all the great children’s books that have made me smile or even tear up over the years, but I could easily count withjust a few fingers the titles that have almost made me shoot milk out of my nose.
If you’re looking to share a few belly laughs while reading with your young ones, here are 10great kids’ books that really know how to bring the funny.
The Book with No Pictures
by B.J. Novak
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Before you ask, yes, there really are no pictures in this kids’ book. The author, B.J. Novak from "The Office," admits upfront that a book with no pictures might seem “boring” and “serious,” but he quickly reveals how much power words actually have. “Here is how books work,” he tells us, “Everything the words say, the person reading the book has to say.” And Novak has a lot of fun making the reader do just that, writing lines like “Ba-Dooongy Face!” and “I am a monkey who taught myself to read.” It’s a genius concept and your kids will love watching you submit to the book’s fiendishly funny whims.
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We Found a Hat
by Jon Klassen
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Jon Klassen is the Tig Notaro of hat-based humor. His deadpan game is so strong, SO strong, and he’s brought his deceptively dead-on timing to a trilogy of just ridiculously funny picture books. The simple premises are conveyed by the titles — I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat, and (finally) We Found A Hat — but Klassen’s knack with visual humor make them all pure comedy gold.
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Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess
by Luvvie Ajayi Jones, illustrated by Joey Spiotto
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In this sweet and funny tale, Little Luvvie is always willing to lend a helping hand! Even if it means bending a few rules. Little Luvvie decides to assist her mother with cooking dinner. However, her real motivation is to have her favorite dish, Jollof rice. When she discovers that her mother isn't making it, she takes it upon herself to make it for everyone instead! What could possibly go wrong?
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President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath
by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
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William H. Taft is every child’s favorite U.S. President. Or, at least, he becomes their favorite president once they hear the urban legend that, because he was so hefty, Taft actually once got stuck in a White House bathtub. Barnett and Van Dusen turn Taft’s woes into a laugh-out-loud comic caper with the whole government doing their best (and failing) to get the poor president unstuck. (Ideal post-bath-time reading material.)
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17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore
by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
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Your children will adore this book and it will make you very, VERY nervous. (Fair warning.) A young girl has begrudgingly created an illustrated list of 17 things that she’s never allowed to do again. 17 things that will have you wondering “WAIT, she actually did that stuff?!” The scenarios are so wicked, funny, and filled with brilliantly sad*stic kid logic that you’ll find your children laughing way too hard and find yourself wondering, “Maybe I should’ve read them Goodnight Moon tonight.”
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Sam with Ants in His Pants
by April Reynolds, illustrated by Katie Kordesh
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For all the kiddos that have a hard time going to bed, they’ll relate to Sam who runs around in defiance and refuses naptime! When he decides to open and read his favorite book instead, all of the safari animals jump off the page and come to life around him. How will he ever get to bed now?
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Interrupting Chicken
by David Ezra Stein
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This book, all about bedtime reading, might actually be too funny to read at bedtime. A little chicken wants her daddy to read her a bedtime story, but she can’t stand to watch her beloved fairy tale characters make mistakes. So she interrupts and interrupts and interrupts — all in an attempt to rewrite her favorite stories. Stein’s book shows kids that being an active participant in storytelling can be both exciting and very, very funny.
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Lion Lessons
by Jon Agee
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It’s common knowledge that there are seven steps to becoming a lion. (You didn’t know? Where have you been?) When a rather sheepish boy decides to train with a Lion Expert — that is, a lion — he’s put through his paces: Looking Fierce, Prowling Around, Roaring, Blowing Out That Luxurious Mane, and the like. Kids will love earning their own stripes (or roars?) with the ultimate knowledge that Looking Out for Your Friends is the bravest step of all.
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Finders Keepers
by Keiko Kasza
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With goofy twists and an ending you won't see coming, Finders Keepers is a rib-tickling book about a little red hat that is not just an ordinary hat. Every part of the woods wants a piece of this hat; they shout “Finders, keepers!” as soon as it lands nearby. But the hat has other plans in mind, which will amuse your kids to no end.
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The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra
by Marc Tyler Nobleman, illustrated by Ana Aranda
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Three goat friends, Pep, Jayna, and Bumsie live in fear knowing they're the legendary chupacabra’s favorite meal. Tired of being spooked, they decide to scare the chupacabra by using the light of their candelabra! But when they learn that the chupacabra’s hunger knows no bounds, they’re in for a shocking revelation.
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The Bear Ate Your Sandwich
by Julia Sarcone-Roach
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The cover alone is enough to get young readers laughing about this one. Listen, your sandwich is gone — a bear ate it! It was definitely a bear. No doubt about it, 100% a bear. The hilarious story of the bear’s journey to said sandwich is so absorbing, your kids won’t start wondering about a duplicitous narrator until the unexpected, uproarious end.
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The Wicked Big Toddlah
by Kevin Hawkes
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When one “wicked big toddlah” is born in Maine, life will never be the same for the sleepy seaside town. Think Clifford the Big Red Dog, but with babies. Toddie is a totally normal baby boy — besides the simple matters that he bathes in the ocean and has teeth the size of Priuses. This book is made for oversized laughs. Fair warning: avoid beverages (especially milk) while reading.
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I Don’t Want to Be a Frog
by Dev Petty, illustrated by Mike Boldt
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We all have a minor identity crisis at some point, right? For this young frog, that crisis is happening now, and it is SERIOUS. Why can’t he be a cat? A unicorn? The next Frank Sinatra? (Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away.) In an earnest and enlightening conversation with his father, Frog learns a thing or two about self-acceptance, while kids enjoy one comic good time.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2023.
