The best books to make you laugh so hard that milk shoots out your nose

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a full-time author and illustrator, and a recovering second grade teacher. I visit with tens of thousands of kids at schools every year and love sharing funny books with them. I’ve written and illustrated over 30 published books and know that kids appreciate subtle humor as well as in-your-face hilarity. I love writing stories that will make readers laugh and think. But mostly laugh.


I wrote...

Almost Everybody Farts

By Marty Kelley,

Book cover of Almost Everybody Farts

What is my book about?

Grandmas fart. Teachers fart. Terrifying creatures fart. But... is there someone who doesn't fart?

With sly humor, this fun picture book looks at a subject that’s sure to make children laugh: farting. With silent farts, farts like horns, and rainbow farts from unicorns, Almost Everybody Farts comically captures the gassy scene. And only one person insists she’s fart-free: Mom! But is she? Kids will insist on reading this rhyming story again and again.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Mother Bruce

Marty Kelley Why did I love this book?

This is probably the most perfect picture book. The illustrations are terrific – full of detail and bold colors. The humor is spot-on and works on multiple levels. Kids will adore Bruce’s cranky (but genuinely kind) attitude while adults laugh at the small asides that ring in a slightly more sophisticated way. 

By Ryan T. Higgins,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mother Bruce as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?



Bruce the bear likes to keep to himself. That, and eat eggs. But when his hard-boiled goose eggs turn out to be real, live goslings, he starts to lose his appetite. And even worse, the goslings are convinced he's their mother. Bruce tries to get the geese to go south, but he can't seem to rid himself of his new companions. What's a bear to do?


Book cover of Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book)

Marty Kelley Why did I love this book?

Another brilliant gem of a book, Snappsy the Alligator is just trying to go about his day, but the annoying narrator of the book insists that he behave in certain ways. This book cleverly considers what the role of character is in a book and how the characters function in their story. Adults will appreciate the sophistication of the concept while younger readers will laugh hysterically at Snappsy’s attempts to be himself despite what the narrator thinks he should do.

By Julie Falatko, Tim J. Miller (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Is he prowling for defenseless birds and soft, fuzzy bunnies? ls Snappsy a big, mean alligator who's obsessed with snack foods that start with the letter P? It's no wonder Snappsy won't invite the narrator to his party! Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) is an irreverent look at storytelling, friendship, and creative differences from a pair of rising stars in the picture book world.


Book cover of The Giggler Treatment

Marty Kelley Why did I love this book?

This is honestly one of my favorite books of all time. Roddy Doyle is much more well known for his adult fiction, but he is a brilliantly absurd writer for children, too. The intrusive and charismatic narrator names chapters after his mother and his fridge as the rollicking story spirals around the family’s efforts to prevent Dad from stepping in dog poo. The voice, the fast-paced plot, and the balance of heart and bathroom humor make this a rip-snorter of a book.

By Roddy Doyle, Brian Ajhar (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Giggler Treatment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, and 9.

What is this book about?

Gloriously silly comedy from Booker prize winner and bestseller Roddy
Doyle.

If adults are mean to children, they get the Giggler Treatment. It's
smelly. It's squishy. And it sticks to your shoe. But sometimes,
just sometimes, the Gigglers make a mistake...

Can Robbie, Kayla, Jimmy and Rover the dog come to Mr Mack's rescue
before the poo hits the shoe?

Look out for more cheeky runaway comedies starring the Mack family
and Rover the wonder-dog: ROVER SAVES CHRISTMAS (9781407139739)
and THE MEANWHILE ADVENTURES (9781407139746).


Book cover of Yuck, a Love Story

Marty Kelley Why did I love this book?

When Amy moves in next to Austin, he is not impressed. He doesn’t need any girls in his life to mess up his perfect existence. He has a dog. He has a best friend. And he knows that a T-Rex will eat a girl with freckles. This book perfectly captures the strange world of very young love in the most innocent and hilarious way. The characters are solid, but they develop in such wonderful ways throughout the story. The art makes it an even more enjoyable read, adding to the dry, witty humor and dialog in unexpected and fun ways.

By Don Gillmor, Marie-Louise Gay (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Yuck, a Love Story as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2000 Governor General's Award for Children's Illustration

Finalist for the CBA Illustrator of the Year Award

Austin Grouper had a brown dog named Fresco, a best friend named Sternberg, and a red bicycle. His life was full. And then a girl named Amy moves in next door. Austin decides that she, like all girls, is yucky. But when the invitation to her birthday party arrives, it seems the only suitable present for Amy is the moon itself, and Austin is prepared to go to the ends of the earth to get it.

Yuck, a Love Story will…


Book cover of Minnie and Moo: The Case of the Missing Jelly Donut

Marty Kelley Why did I love this book?

Minnie and Moo are two cows who go on more adventures than any cows in history. Again, the humor works on multiple levels. Adults will laugh out loud over the cows’ realization that they are made of beef while kids will delight in their ridiculous adventures around the farmyard. Or on the moon. Or in Paris. Or even the hot tub. There are several books in the series and each one is absolutely delightful.

By Denys Cazet,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Minnie and Moo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6.

What is this book about?

Minnie's jelly donut is gone! Moo is sure it's been stolen. Can the cunning cows stop the crime wave before the donut-napper strikes again?

The funniest and sweetest buddies since Frog and Toad, Minnie and Moo will earn giggles from young readers. The Minnie and Moo stories are fun independent reads and also perfect for reading aloud, as they're filled with funny dialogue from these goofy and adorable cows.

Denys Cazet was an elementary school teacher for 25 years, and has also been a school librarian and elementary school media specialist. He was inspired to tell stories about the silly…


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Book cover of The Spanish Diplomat's Secret

Nev March Author Of The Spanish Diplomat's Secret

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author History lover Scriptwriter Reader Nature lover

Nev's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

An entertaining mystery on a 1894 trans-Atlantic steamship with an varied array of suspects, and a detective who must solve his case in six days to prevent international conflict.

Retired from the British Indian army, Captain Jim is taking his wife Diana to Liverpool from New York, when their pleasant cruise turns deadly. Just hours after meeting him, a foreign diplomat is brutally murdered onboard their ship. Captain Jim must find the killer before they dock in six days, or there could be war! Aboard the beleaguered luxury liner are a thousand suspects, but no witnesses to the locked-cabin crime.

Fortunately, his wife Diana knows her way around first-class accommodations and Gilded Age society. But something has been troubling her, too, something she won’t tell him. Together, using tricks gleaned from their favorite fictional sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, Captain Jim, and Diana must learn why one man’s life came to a murderous end.

By Nev March,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Spanish Diplomat's Secret as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Spanish Diplomat's Secret, award-winning author Nev March explores the vivid nineteenth-century world of the transatlantic voyage, one passenger’s secret at a time.

Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framji are embarking to England in the summer of 1894. Jim is hopeful the cruise will help Diana open up to him. Something is troubling her, and Jim is concerned.

On their first evening, Jim meets an intriguing Spaniard, a fellow soldier with whom he finds an instant kinship. But within twenty-four hours, Don Juan Nepomuceno is murdered, his body discovered shortly after he asks rather urgently to…


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