11 picture books to make kids AND parents giggle

We all love a good laugh. Sharing a funny picture book is a great way to enhance kids’ enjoyment of reading, and make the bedtime reading routine more fun for mum and dad, too!

Here are some of our favourite child-  and parent-friendly funny books.

Slinky Malinki: Hairy Maclary and Friends by Lynley Dodd

All of the titles in Lynley Dodd’s Hairy MacLary series makes us smile, but we particularly enjoy the naughty antics of the cat characters in this book. Slinky Malinki steals anything from a clothes peg to a string of sausages! The hero is the BAD cat. This story is told in a wonderful rhyme and through pictures full of life and movement

Readers aged 2+

Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen

Besides the sea, on Mr Peffer’s place, there lived a cow, a donkey, a sheep, a pig, and a tiny little mouse. One warm sunny morning for no particular reason, they decided to go for a row in the bay. We adore the illustrations of animals making their precious way on the boat. Who sinks the boat at the end, is it really the smallest and unlikeliest animal?

Readers aged 0+

Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman and Adam Rex

Chu is a small panda with a very big sneeze. When Chy sneezes, you REALLY don’t want to get in the way. But a whole day of adventure will test Chu’s sneeze-resisting powers to the limit. How big can Chu’s sneeze really be? Kids will be amused by Chu’s sneezing, and it makes for a fun read-aloud where parents have the opportunity to be as animated as they’d like!

Readers aged 0+

Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey

He’s back! But this time Pig, the world’s greediest Pug, is telling great big lies. Won’t he ever learn? This book is a lot of rhyming fun, where kids aged 3+ will giggle at Pig’s funny antics while paying attention to the soulful sound the book emanates.

Readers aged 3+

The Very Hungry Bear by Nick Bland

This bear has been very cranky, very itchy, and now he’s very hungry! Nick Bland’s wonderful Bear is a treat for young and old readers alike. The illustrations in this big blue book will keep younger readers engages, while the story skips along as you meet other characters. This is sure to be a family favourite!

Readers aged 6+

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

When the driver leaves the bus temporarily, he gives the reader just one instruction: “Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus!” But boy, that pigeon tries every trick in the book to get in that driving seat: he whines, wheedles, fibs and flatters. Will you let him drive? Told entirely in speech bubbles, this award-winning book is brilliant and original.

Readers aged 5+

Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Alexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in this hair. And it got worse… his best friend deserted him. There was no dessert in his lunch bag, and on top of all that, there were lima beans for dinner and kissing on TV! Famous for the line ‘some days are like that…even in Australia,’ this book is one of those books that can be read on many levels.

Readers aged 6+

The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky

Here is the story of the Terrible PLOP, with a bear and a rabbit, and a hop hop hop. But what is the plop? And where does it hide? Open the book and look inside! This book has terrific rhyming text and an energetic, hilarious story: a sound in the forest sets all the animals running from ‘the Terrible Plop. But has anyone actually seen a Plop…?

Readers aged 2+

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

Poor Duncan just wants to colour in. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! The battle lines have been drawn. What is Duncan to do? This book has amused kids around the world. There’s also a sequel available now.

Readers aged 3+

Mr Chicken Goes to Paris by Leigh Hobbs

From the creator of Old Tom, Horrible Harriet and Fiona the Pig comes the unforgettable and riotous Mr Chicken! The world’s most beautiful city meets the world’s most startling chicken, an eye-boggling enthusiast who is entirely unaware of the effect he has on the people around him. This will keep kids giggling well into primary school.

Readers aged 4+

Weasels by Elys Dolan

Find out how the weasels’ dastardly plans are foiled in this hilarious, off-the-wall debut picture book from a shiny new star in the children’s book firmament. It’s packed with cross-over humour to amuse little kids, big kids, and parents too! The art is stylish and accessible and full of details for poring over time and time again – there’s always a new joke to find.

Readers aged 3+