When I was a kid, my absolute favourite book was The Hypnotiser by Michael Rosen. It’s a collection of hilarious poems that I had so well memorised that I could make myself smile and snort without even needing to read them, just by running through them in my head.
✱
(I just tried it and I can still do it with my absolute favourite, 'Eddie and the Supermarket', at the bit where toddler Eddie has a meltdown about baked beans)
✱
Books that are funny, light, silly, cheeky, nonsensical and all the rest are so important for kids. And for adults! I reckon tons of adults (me included) would read more if they didn’t put pressure on themselves to read ‘clever’ and improving books all the time.
✱
When I ran reading projects for the National Literacy Trust, ‘funny books’ were always the number 1 ask from kids and teachers (they get it), but I know lots of parents worry that fart jokes and tales of cheeky pranks aren’t going to do much for kids’ learning. That’s a totally understandable concern but, as always, I’m on the side of fart jokes.
✱
So here are my five top reasons why kids need funny books – enjoy! And if you haven't already, head to aliceharman.com/newsletter to subscribe to What Book Now?, my free monthly newsletter with a handpicked selection of my favourite books for kids aged 0-12ish. I'll always include a funny book or two :)
(By the way, apologies for the lack of hyperlink above - Buy Me a Coffee won't let me link to external pages here!)
Thanks for reading! You can find more posts about children's books + other fun stuff on my website, aliceharman.com.