I am the author-illustrator of funny picture books for kids, including the interactive book, Animals Go Vroom!. As an illustrator, I revel in creating jokes and storylines in the pictures that kids can follow along with by themselves. And as a mother of two small children myself, I know first-hand the magical experience of reading books with toddlers that keep them guessing and giggling along the way.
Poor Fergus is no good at hiding. In this funny seek-and-find book, Fergus, a big brown bear with glasses, gets tips from the narrator on how to get better at hiding. As the story goes on, Fergus starts to blend in better with the crowds, and it gets trickier and trickier to spot him. It’s a great read-aloud, and kids will find it hilarious how bad he is at hiding at first. But they’ll need to use their eagle eyes when all the fun characters from the book come together in a big crowd at the end.
Play the funniest game of hide and seek ever with Fergus, a bear who's very, very bad at hiding.
The hilarious illustrator of I Don't Want to Be a Frog brings picture book fans a super-silly, interactive story that will have children giggling from start to finish. Follow huge, loveable Fergus and see all the many ways in which he is TERRIBLE at playing hide-and-seek, such as standing behind a VERY tiny tree ("Found you, Fergus! That was too easy!") or trying to camouflage in a giant crowd of bunnies and squirrels ("Try bears, Fergus. Bears!").
Before I was an author-illustrator, I was an elementary school teacher for many years. One of my favorite things about teaching was reading to students and helping them find books they love. Seeing kids connect with books motivated me to write and illustrate books; the character Reggie is very much inspired by my young students! Humorous books with lots of pictures often get kids hooked on reading, which is why I’ve selected funny graphic novels for this list. There’s no shortage of great comics for kids, so I chose books I also would have loved as a kid–silly and sweet, starring animal characters with real, kid-like feelings.
I love the energetic ink and watercolor illustrations and the silly squirrel protagonists. The sequence where the squirrels interfere with a donut-making machine has a classic cartoon feel. This sweet, fun adventure story will leave you smiling–and craving donuts!
Two squirrel best friends meet their match: a donut food truck! This Eisner-nominated hilarious young graphic novel is perfect for fans of Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea and anyone who would do ANYTHING for a donut.
Norma and Belly would really really really really really like a donut.
With a burned breakfast and a cranky donut seller at the local food truck, they may be stuck with only nuts to eat . . . unless they can steal the biggest, most delicious donut of their tiny lives!
Mika Song gives readers something to laugh at as these squirrels try their…
As a child, I fell in love with picture books and the magical, whimsical worlds they opened! I recall snuggling up and listening to these tales being read to me. Later, after a bit of a struggle, I learned to read myself. From there, there was no stopping me. My library card was my most treasured, most loved possession! I quickly moved on to chapter books, then to novels, but never outgrew my love and passion for picture books! As a former teacher and now great-grandparent, I treasure the opportunity to usher children down the rabbit hole of reading!
I am recommending this book because I fell in love with it as a child.
First, those beautiful watercolor illustrations of pure whimsy and secondly, I secretly loved the mischievous squirrel Nutkin and his riddles. As an adult, I love cuddling with my family's nutkins and sharing a laugh and a lesson on the sly.
There is just something special about sharing with your grandchildren a book you loved as a child!
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is an original classic by Beatrix Potter.
Beatrix Potter's famous tale of a naughty squirrel who loses his tail is as popular today as it was when it was first published over 100 years ago. Join Nutkin, his brother Twinkleberry and all his cousins as they make their way over to Owl Island to gather nuts. See what happens when Old Brown, the terrifying owl guardian of the island decides he has had enough of silly Nutkin's cheekiness! Ouch!!
Beatrix Potter is regarded as one of the world's best-loved children's authors of all time. From…
I am a Canadian social anthropologist living in England, and my research is about material culture and heritage in Mexico. I have always been fascinated by the ways that people make their cultures through objects, food, and space; this almost certainly started with my mum who is always making something stitched, knitted, savoury, or sweet, often all at the same time. I hope that you enjoy the books on my list – I chose them as they each have something important to teach us about how our consumption of things affects those who make them, often in profound ways.
This book is highly recommended by myself and my small son, Adam. Pumpkin Soup captures something essential about making things for a living that is not often discussed in more academic texts: how difficult it can be to collaborate with others. The book tells the story of a squirrel, a cat, and a duck who make pumpkin soup together every night. All goes well until Duck decides he wants to do things his way, and a loud and angry argument ensues! The book does not end with a moral for small children about cooperation, but something altogether more ethnographic and familiar to those who work with others – another argument!
Cat, Duck and Squirrel live in an old white cabin, with a pumpkin patch in the garden. Every day Cat slices up some pumpkin, Squirrel stirs in some water and Duck tips in some salt to make the perfect pumpkin soup...Until the day Duck wants to do the stirring...This is a funny, rhythmical story about friendship and sharing, with fabulous animal characters, illustrated in glowing autumnal colours with a brilliant CD featuring music and sound effects!
As a child, I fell in love with picture books and the magical, whimsical worlds they opened! I recall snuggling up and listening to these tales being read to me. Later, after a bit of a struggle, I learned to read myself. From there, there was no stopping me. My library card was my most treasured, most loved possession! I quickly moved on to chapter books, then to novels, but never outgrew my love and passion for picture books! As a former teacher and now great-grandparent, I treasure the opportunity to usher children down the rabbit hole of reading!
Remember the grouchy old guy who yelled at you for being on this lawn? Well, this is the hilarious squirrel version! I admit, laughed way too hard at this battle of wits stories.
Secretly, I was rooting for the squirrels! What I loved about this book is that the squirrels are the ones that find the charming solution that allows all to live in peace and co-exist!
Little ones and grown-ups will giggle through multiple reads of Those Darn Squirrels!
From the creators of Dragons Love Tacos comes the story of what happens when a grumpy old man and some mischievous squirrels match wits—with hilarious results.
Old Man Fookwire is a grump. The only thing he likes to do is paint pictures of the birds that visit his backyard. The problem is, they fly south every winter, leaving him sad and lonely.
So he decides to get them to stay by putting up beautiful bird feeders filled with seeds and berries. Unfortunately, the squirrels like the treats,…
Picture books are so important. They’re for everyone, not just young children, and often the readers are adult. Writing one is similar to writing a poem while watching the story in my imagination like a film. Usually I know the illustrator and can write to their strengths. Sophy Williams has drawn TheWinter Dragon as an awesome creature who's also kind and protective. When I was seven, my teacher sent my stories to Enid Blyton who replied I must not be spoiled (shame!) and wouldn’t write once I was an adult. After making Dragons with children, I watched them bring their creature alive in their play. The Winter Dragon enlarges Rory’s imaginative world.
One of the best books about someone desperate to sleep is Good-night, Owl! written and illustrated by Pat Hutchins. This is short and jolly, excellent for very young children, and there is a board book format available. The clear bright pictures are like mosaics.
Poor Owl, who has to sleep in the daytime, is constantly disturbed by bees buzzing, woodpeckers pecking, doves cooing and squirrels cracking nuts. These are refreshingly local creatures, not exotic zoo inmates. It’s a rhythmic, cumulative text which I often read to the young children I taught. They loved to join in with the noises, and act the story. There’s a surprise ending. You’ll love to see Owl get his own back!
Owl can't get to sleep in Pat Hutchins's beloved Good-Night, Owl!
How is Owl supposed to sleep the day away with the bees buzzing, the woodpecker pecking, the doves cooing, and the squirrels crunching? But when night falls and everything is finally quiet, suddenly there's a new sound-and it's coming from Owl!
From author-illustrator Pat Hutchins, this cumulative bedtime story with a surprise ending will send little ones off to sleep with a smile.
I've been an editorial cartoonist and author of children's books for years, and I've always wanted to try my hand at a graphic novel. I'd want to explore this art form even if I didn't have kids. Editorial cartoons deal with serious, heavy issues. Comic strips can get monotonous, and picture books tend to skew young. Graphic novels for kids, however, are 'Goldilocks' projects for me—just right. They allow you to imagine incredible adventures for your characters, they give you an excuse to incorporate wacky humor, and the format provides a chance to have fun with art and design. What's not to love?
This book is immensely entertaining due to its blend of slapstick humor, imaginative storytelling, and simple illustrations. In my mind, no other cartoonist or illustrator can convey so much silliness with so few lines!
Pilkey’s creation of a half-dog, half-man hero who finds himself in hilarious predicaments is a simple but genius premise. There are all kinds of wonderful supporting characters, too, like Evil Petey and cute Cat Kid. The comic book style format, drawn by mischief-makers Harold and George, adds to the charm here.
Clever wordplay, puns, and relatable themes of friendship, bravery, and perseverance will show you why this book was such a home-run success.
4
authors picked
Dog Man
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
6,
7,
8, and
9.
What is this book about?
Howl with laughter with the FIRST book in the hilarious full-colour illustrated series, Dog Man, from the creator of Captain Underpants! George and Harold (the co-stars of the enormously popular Captain Underpants series) are in big trouble again!
George and Harold have created a new breed of justice -- one that is part dog, part man, and ALL HERO!
With the head of a dog and the body of a human, this heroic hound digs into deception, claws after crooks, rolls over robbers, and scampers after squirrels.
Will he be able to resist the call of the wild to answer…
I’ve loved cats my whole life, ever since I started to crawl around with our two cats Tabby and Tubby when I was a baby. Cats are cute and beautiful and have so much personality that they get away with all kinds of shenanigans. This makes cats the perfect subject for picture books for children, which is why I wrote my own cat picture book, and why I’m always on the lookout for kids’ books where they’re the star of the show. So many picture books have serious and instructive themes, and while these books are obviously important, sometimes you just want to snuggle up with your little one and have a good laugh.
The narrator of Cat Problems is a cynical, bad-tempered, ungrateful cat (sounds a lot like my cat, Stanley), wonderfully drawn by the brilliant Lane Smith. After the cat’s litany of complaints, a nosy squirrel tries to teach him (and the reader) a lesson about gratitude, but the cat just ignores him. And I love that! Sometimes, you don’t need a lesson, you just need to laugh—and you will!
What could a pampered house cat possibly have to complain about?
Just like most cats, this cat lives an extremely comfortable life. But he has his problems, too...
The sun spot he's trying to bathe in just won't stop moving. The nosy neighbour squirrel just can't seem to mind its own business. And don't even get him started on the hoover! It's an absolute menace! Will this cat ever find the silver lining?
From picture book superstars Jory John and Lane Smith, the creators of Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems, comes a brand-new, hilarious collaboration sure to tickle every feline…
I’ve always thought books with fake relationship storylines are incredibly interesting and entertaining. There’s so much nuance in creating a believable scenario in which two people agree that pretending to be enamored with each other is the easier/better option than telling the truth, and there is so much awkwardness that goes with pretending to be in love with someone you dislike or barely know. That fascination, along with an appreciation for humor, is what inspired me to write two different fake dating romantic comedies of my own, The Wedding Date Deal and The Gratitude Guarantee. It’s also why I can’t get enough of books like the ones on this list!
The thing I loved most about this book is how impervious Audrey is to Flint’s charms at the beginning of the book. She’s a scientist who doesn’t watch movies and doesn’t know or care that he’s a massive star—she’s truly just there for the squirrels she’s trying to research!
It was a delight to watch Flint try to charm Audrey and figure out what makes her tick since she’s not like other girls and to watch her developing feelings for him while navigating the spotlight that comes with being his (fake) girlfriend. I also love the sibling relationships that both of them have. Nothing’s funnier than a brutally honest group text with your brothers or sisters!
He’s Hollywood’s biggest star. She wouldn’t know him from the pizza delivery guy.
I’m a wildlife biologist in a tiny mountain town, not some kind of law-breaking celebrity stalker. At least not on purpose.
It was an accident when I wandered onto the property of one of Hollywood’s hottest movie stars. Five minutes ago, I'd never even heard of Flint Hawthorne. I definitely didn’t know he lives in Silver Creek.
When I’m detained for trespassing, the last thing I expect is to trade my handcuffs for a designer gown. All I wanted was permission to conduct my research on a…
I grew up in London, close to Richmond Park, where I got to know many of the characters who have since popped up in my stories. I bird-watched, caterpillar-collected, and pond-dipped, and my bedroom had a floating population of minibeasts. My first picture book, Fred and the Little Egg, was about a bear cub trying to hatch an acorn, and my stories have continued to reflect my love of nature. My Fletcher’s Four Seasons series follows a kind-hearted fox cub as he explores his wood through the changing seasons. I hope my books will inspire children to explore and care for the natural world too.
This hilarious tale of a squirrel struggling to cope with its tree losing its leaves in autumn shares a theme with Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, but makes it very much its own thanks to its delightfully dramatic main character. Squirrel is a hoot from start to finish, outraged one minute, trying to relax with yoga and a hot bath the next. The book has colourful, expressive illustrations, a wonderful final page twist, and some bonus facts at the back about autumn, trees, and squirrels.
A brilliantly funny picture book about seasons, written by Alice Hemming and illustrated by Nicola Slater.
Squirrel is so cross. Yesterday there were loads of beautiful leaves on his tree, but today? Today some are missing and Squirrel is convinced that someone has stolen them... there's a leaf thief on the loose!
Join Squirrel on a mission to find the culprit, and meet so many fun animals on the way, while you find out how the world takes on different colours as the months pass by.
A laugh-out-loud book about the changing seasons, with extra information in the back for…
