Humorous Books for Kids & Adults
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Humorous Books for Kids & Adults
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&qid=1323406762&sr=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&ie=UTF8&qid=1323406869&sr=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
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&field-keywords=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
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