Does your child love a book that makes them laugh out loud? Some kids will read anything if it’s funny enough — and a good giggle is one of the best ways to turn a reluctant reader into an enthusiastic one.
Children’s Books Ireland put together a reading list called Funny Books, gathering humorous authors and titles for children aged 5 to 11. If your child hoots at books by David Walliams, chortles through the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, or rolls around laughing at Roald Dahl, these picks are well worth adding to the bookshelf.
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Humorous Books for Kids (and Parents!)
Bad Nana: Older Not Wiser by Sophy Henn
Jeanie’s Bad Nana is an absolute delight. Entirely filled with mischief and lemon sherbets, this twinkly-earring- and glittery-turban-wearing grande dame is not one to be trifled with.
Whether dealing with power-mad park attendants or furious local historians, she always comes out on top.
Expressive use of fonts alongside witty illustrations in pink, black and white make Bad Nana perfect for emerging readers.
While the main characters are illustrated as white, classmates and community members of diverse ethnicities appear throughout. A tremendously fun series!
Suitable for ages 5–8
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Dave Pigeon by Swapna Haddow
Follow Dave Pigeon and his sidekick Skipper as they face their nemesis, Mean Cat. The two friends hatch various mad-cap plans to engineer his departure from the house of a kind Human Lady so they can take his place and live in biscuit-y nirvana.
Dave Pigeon, the first in a series, is a funny, quirky and fast-paced book with a cliff-hanger ending.
Sheena Dempsey’s illustrations really enliven the book and break up the text for less experienced readers. A brilliant start to a fun series.
Suitable for ages 7–9
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The Incredible Shrinking Girl by Lou Kuenzler
Violet Potts is a happy-go-lucky tomboy until one day, to her surprise, she shrinks to the size of a mouse.
She soon realises her new tiny size might have some advantages, as she has a mystery to solve and her grandmother’s good name to clear.
The Incredible Shrinking Girl is designed with different fonts and quirky illustrations that give great liveliness to the text.
This is a fantastically funny story with great characters, especially fearless Violet.
Suitable for ages 7–9
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Danger is Everywhere: A Handbook for Avoiding Danger by David O’Doherty
Docter Noel Zone (that’s ‘Docter’, not ‘Doctor’) is the world’s first ‘Dangerologist’ and he wants to remove all danger from your life.
He does this by pointing out the mindboggling hazards involved in ordinary activities, including being kidnapped by a giant eagle or accidentally being baked in a casserole.
Danger is Everywhere is filled with lots of utterly useless advice and daft illustrations. It’s a ridiculous series with no educational value whatsoever — and that’s the whole point.
May cause laughter. Use gloves and goggles when handling.
Suitable for ages 7–9
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Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill
Darcy Burdock is ten (almost eleven) and one of life’s noticers. Curious, smart, funny and fiercely loyal, she sees the extraordinary in the everyday and the wonder in the world around her.
She is best friend to Will, big sister to Poppy (who loves to dance) and Hector (who was more fun to dress up when he was a baby), owner of a pet lamb called Lamb-Beth, and possessor of a vivid imagination.
The text in Darcy Burdock is liberally scattered with the stories and poems Darcy writes, which show wonderful imagination and are often very entertaining.
Suitable for ages 9–11
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Who Let The Gods Out? by Maz Evans
Elliot’s mother is developing dementia and their home is drowning in debt. When Virgo, the Zodiac goddess, crash lands in his shed, Elliot’s life gets even more chaotic.
After the pair accidentally release Thanatos, evil Daemon of Death, they turn to the Greek Olympians in the hope of saving both of their worlds.
Who Let The Gods Out is an action-packed comic adventure full of witty in-jokes, zany characters and clever reworkings of myth.
Evans skilfully combines realism and fantasy to offer a surprisingly fresh story.
Suitable for ages 9–11
Timmy Failure: Now Look What You’ve Done by Stephan Pastis
Fresh off his initial bestselling book in this series, comic strip creator Stephan Pastis returns to Total Failure Inc, the world’s worst detective agency, made up of Timmy — a kid with unwarranted confidence in his sleuthing skills — and Total, his possibly imaginary polar bear.
Their case: a school competition to find a missing globe. The prize: $500.
Timmy Failure: Now Look What You’ve Done is a very funny book, and coupled with plenty of Pastis’s witty illustrations, it’s a delight to see Total Failure Inc reopen their doors.
Suitable for ages 9–11
My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons
By chance, Zack is granted amazing, out-of-this-dimension superpowers, and Luke, his comic book fanatic brother, is not pleased he missed out due to an ill-timed trip to the bathroom.
However, they will need to work together to prevent the destruction of not one but TWO worlds.
This début novel is very funny, with some impressively geeky references, and works well as a loving spoof of superhero origin stories.
Combined with an exciting plot, My Brother is a Superhero is a marvel.
Suitable for ages 9–11
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You can download the full Funny Books reading list from Children’s Books Ireland here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age group are these funny books suitable for?
The books on this list suit children roughly aged 5 to 11, with individual titles marked for narrower age bands (5–8, 7–9 or 9–11) depending on reading level and content.
Are these books part of a series?
Several are — including Bad Nana, Dave Pigeon and Timmy Failure — so if your child enjoys the first book, there’s usually more of the same characters to look forward to.
Where can I find the full Children’s Books Ireland reading list?
The complete Funny Books list is available as a free PDF download directly from Children’s Books Ireland, linked above.
More Books Your Child Might Love
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Save This List for Later
Building a pile of funny books takes a bit of trial and error — bookmark this page or save it to your reading list so you can come back to it next time you’re stuck for what to read next.
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