Kids Will Love These Laugh Out Loud Reads
The perfect books for developing a love of reading!
Here is where a love for reading begins, with smiles and laughter! One of the best ways to encourage this love for reading is to introduce kids to books they will LOVE! Books that will make them smile, laugh, and leave them wanting to read more! These are the books that the whole family will want to crowd around to see what’s causing all the laughter.
I love how books can help kids through difficult times and help them develop new perspectives both for themselves and others, but to get to these super helpful books, often you first need to enjoy reading and want to read. Here are some of my family’s and my former student’s top laugh out loud reads! Enjoy the smiles, giggles, and rolling laughter!
*As always, my book list grows from simpler books to more complex. Board books toward the top of the list with picture books following.
Board Books
An almost wordless classic tells the tale of a gorilla who gets the zookeeper's keys and into mischief one night, letting himself and all the other zoo animals out. Where do this sneaky gorilla and his animal friends go to? The zookeeper's house, of course! But, will he be discovered & if so, then what? A sneaky, giggling adventure awaits!
Oops, and uh-ohs galore when this silly turkey struts into Sandra Boynton's book! All the animals are getting appropriately dressed, but turkey keeps putting things on the wrong way. No, silly turkey, a shoe doesn't go on your head! This same humor is known to calm transitions when trying to get our kids to leave the house!
My oldest son's first book laugh came from this story when he was a baby. He requested it over and over again and just laughed and laughed! Max wants to eat the strawberries for breakfast, not the egg. Can Ruby convince him otherwise?
"Silly Sally went to town walking backwards upside-down!" An absolute silly delight for kids! On her way to town walking backwards upside-down, Silly Sally has fun meeting new friends her join her ridiculous ways. Full of rhymes, rhythm, and just complete silliness, this will have your little one wiggling and giggling!
My baby loves most books in this series. However, this one has been one of his absolute favorites. It could be because I tickle him along with the baby being tickled, but either way, it's a win when we are both laughing and enjoying our book time together!
Picture Books
If your kids love ridiculous and over the top antics, be sure to check this one out. When a boy gets his kite stuck up in a tree, he tries throwing as many things as he can think of to get it out. Each item is getting more and more ridiculous. And the reader will have a good laugh when thinking you know what will happen next, doesn't, and gives you a surprise. Delightfully silly and fun! This one comes in a board book option, as well.
Pigeon wants to do only one thing, and that is to drive the bus. When the driver has to step away for a minute, and the reader/listener is in charge of not letting the Pigeon drive the bus, Pigeon goes through some hilarious antics trying to convince the reader/listener that he should be able to drive it. Kids will be laughing aloud as they explain to the Pigeon that he can't drive the bus.
Here's another tale of trickery. When larger animals found Mouse, he pretends to be a tiger as not to get eaten. He is so convincing; all the animals are left confused. Did he convince you?
Duck, Duck, and Moose all live together. The Ducks are orderly, but Moose has his own way about doing things with a hefty dose of clumsiness. For example, he accidentally runs through the wall instead of the door. Moose reminds me a bit of Goofy, clumsy and makes funny messes, but so loveable. When the Ducks tell Moose to leave after making so many messes, can they get him to come back for the fun surprise at the end?
Definite crowd pleaser right here! We've read this one so many times. It makes an excellent read-aloud for the classroom, a massive hit in preschool! Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob are dust bunnies who love to rhyme all the time. However, Bob never seems to get the rhyme quite right. Or is Bob trying to communicate something other than a rhyme? Hilariously engaging! A top pick for preschoolers/kindergarteners!
Minvera Louise is a curious hen who loves her farmers but is always trying to make sense of what they are up to and their gadgets around the farm. When she ventures inside the farmer's house through an open window, she tries out a flower pot with flowers for a chair, observes a sleeping cat, which she calls a cow, and gets the farmer's bedspread "a meadow of flowers." Kids will laugh at Minerva Louise's silly ideas/comments about commonplace items. (Lots more Minvera Louise stories to check out if your child loves this one!)
A fox breaks into a chicken coop one night to capture a chicken to eat. When he gets home, he discovers he accidentally grabbed a duck instead. Duck tries his hardest to convince Fox that he's a dog and is a pet. Giggles erupt as Duck tries to trick Fox by acting as much like a dog as possible to avoid getting eaten. Will it work?
Because toilet humor never fails to make kids giggle! When Bear discovers that his pants are wet, he goes around demanding to know, "Did you wet my pants?!" Kids will be laughing at the ridiculousness of Bear!
Not too many words, but so much silliness happening on every page. Lots of giggles spotting all the accidents that take place as the story progresses.
Mouse and Polar Bear go on a hunt to find where Polar Bear's underwear disappeared and try to remember how the underwear looks. Expect giggles when attempting to guess whose underwear is whose, and the surprise at the end, spot on with the story's silliness.
Any baby loving child or child with a younger sibling will get a hoot out of this book when Sophie is introduced to her new baby sister and will only speak in random languages, like "Jellyfish language." The parents continually changing the baby's name, elicits a few laughs as well!
You probably figured out now that someone ate your sandwich. But, the question remains, who exactly was it that ate your sandwich, and how did it happen? Detective style book with a heaping dose of silliness.
Dandy
by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Charles Santoso
Hilarious contrasting tale of a Father's quest to have the perfectly landscaped yard and his daughter's quest to help her most beautiful flower find and friend, a dandelion, grow.
An engaging and funny read about a little monster named Nibbles who loves to nibble books! Nibbles escapes and starts nibbling his way through books and leaving a mess behind him. Can the reader catch him before there is too much damage?
Penelope T. Rex is surprised to find out that she's the only T. Rex in her kindergarten class. Even more surprising is that her classmates are all delicious children! She can't help eating them until she meets her match, Walter, the goldfish. From pictures to text, this one is sure to be one that requested to read over and over again!
With poems like "The Yogurt Flies Straight From My Brother," "Stinky, Stinky, Diaper Change," and "Go Go Go to Bed" sung to the tune of familiar songs, they are sure to elicit some laughs from parents and kids alike!
Any Elephant & Piggie book is sure to delight young readers with their big doses of humor and expression, combined with simple and surprising twists. We're in a Book that happens to be my personal favorite from this series because, of course, I love books, and who wouldn't enjoy engaging with these two delightful characters in a book about a book that's being read.
Readers everywhere delight in this humorous series by Mo Willems! If your reader hasn’t checked these out yet, I’m here to tell you now is the time. I have linked here the whole series because it is that fabulous that your reader will want to read every book over and over again. (Plus, this set comes with fun Elephant & Piggie bookends! Such a great gift idea!) A fantastic series for early readers that adults will enjoy joining in for story time, too!
Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein
Read one poem, twenty poems, or the whole story in a sitting! These goofy and surprising poems will leave kids grinning ear to ear. If reading aloud, be sure to use all the expression and voice changes out there! Some of my favorites from this book are: "Boa Constrictor," "Sick," and "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out."
Chapter Books
I’m not sure how many times we’ve read this hilarious series at my house, but it’s one of the most requested chapter books here! Dory is spunky and always having fun in her world of imagination. Such a fun read together or for kids reading on their own. K-2nd is probably the best age for reading aloud or independently for this series.
After the first book read in this funny graphic novel series, my daughter was hooked! She has read and reread every book in this series several times and will still smile and laugh from time to time! This is another series, I would just consider owning the whole thing straight away after the first book. Definitely one kids will want to keep coming back to! Warning this series is full of “potty” talk. I do still recommend it for it’s ability to get readers super engaged and keep or develop that love of reading we want them to!
*As an affiliate for Amazon and other online retailers, I may get a small percentage of the purchase price. This does not change the price you pay and I appreciate it so much when you use my links. Thank you for your support!
