There wasn’t much to laugh about in 2020, that’s for sure. The whole year was a great tragedy from start to finish. but humor finds a way. Granted, a lot of this comes down to sweet subjectivity. you know the exercise by now. what’s funny to me may not be funny to you. what you find hilarious could make you pooh-pooh. with this crop of books, however, I can at least say that there is something here for every type of humor. traps and urban jokes. humor that adult readers will appreciate and fun and sloppy stuff for even the youngest. As you can imagine, this is one of my favorite lists of the month.
2020 funny picture books
the alphabet of the alphabet by chris harris, ill. dan santat
You are reading: Funny picture books 2020
cards are sneakier than you think. Check out the 26 letters that pretend to be 26 other letters in the most twisted (not to mention hilarious) alphabet book you’ve ever seen. what does p have for forged pterodactyl? Suddenly we’re looking at all these illustrated alphabet books that actually took time, thought, and consideration to make. now chris harris won my heart years ago with that wonderful collection of poetry that i’m just not good at rhyming. that was cool, but she apparently thought that wasn’t enough of a challenge. she now she has made an alphabet book that also works as a code (no lie). this is meticulously thought out down to the smallest particle. the only letter that seems to have stumped him is the s, and I agree with that. Dan Santat, meanwhile, is clearly having a lot of fun. There are enough kid jokes to keep them freaking out and enough adult jokes (did you notice that the alphabet is for Times New Roman School on the cover?) to keep you engaged.
my family bear by maya tatsukawa
It’s not easy living with a bear. they are loud, bossy and hungry. but when you need someone on your side, it’s quite useful to be brothers to a bear. I think it was really helpful to be able to hear a talented co-worker perform this book live. the key may be in how you do the bear’s voice. if you make it sharp and low, it is the perfect accompaniment. As an adult, I suspected a twist was coming, but even knowing that, I think tatsukawa just does a great job of revealing the bear’s true personality. it definitely looks, at first glance, like a tamo gomi book, but it has its own unique and distinctive feel.
the best worst poet in the history of lauren stohler
I am very interested in this character of Lauren Stohler. I have a co-worker for whom all pug picture books are golden and glorious. me? I’m pug neutral. You have to give me something beyond race if you want to win my love. Now the premise of this one is simple. a pug and a cat approach poetry in very different ways. the cat wishes to emulate the great masters. the pug is . . oh . a little freer (let’s say) with his verse. and at first it’s all jokes about asses and underwear and you might write it off, but keep going. once the pug and cat are friendly, there is a laugh-out-loud moment (to the adults, the kids will have missed the “can I write with my butt?” sequence) in which the pug tries desperately to think in a compliment to the cat. if you have a monthly poetry unit coming up, this could be a good supplemental read. it’s fun and the art, frankly, is great. if atheneum doesn’t beg stohler to do a graphic novel soon, she’s missing out on a golden opportunity.
chicken little: the true and totally true tale of sam wedelich
You know when I occasionally stray unexpectedly from things that annoy me in picture book literature? things like, oh, for example, the fact that female animal characters always seem to have eyelashes or bows or tutus so the reader can never, ever, ever ever 100% forget that they’re looking at a girl. Yes. normalize gender equality in animals, people. Sam Wedelich gets it. In fact, Sam Wedelich gets a lot of things. he understands that the chicken little story is really interesting when you look at our current world and how mass hysteria travels at the speed of light. I’m not saying that chicken little: the real and totally true story is a metaphor for rumors on the internet or something, but I’m not saying it either. and yes, it’s funny. when chicken little gets hit on the head by something and thinks the sky is falling, you know what he does? she actually checks it with the sky.
No Reading Allowed: Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter’s Worst Read-Aloud Book, Sick. bryce gladfelter
meet my 6 year old’s favorite book of the year. I have never seen anything like this before. a book of “same-sounding and homonymous sentences” that isn’t afraid to use big words, obscure words, and fancy words along the way. the premise is laughably simple and so damn complicated to make. Essentially, a sentence is written twice, but the spelling is changed on key words. therefore, the first could say “the children frosted the mousse” and show the children eating chocolate moose. the second sentence will say, “the boys put a scarf on the moose” and show the boys putting a scarf on a moose. pretty cute, right? only we’re talking about raj haldar and chris carpenter here. it’s the guys behind p is for pterodactyl so you know they’re going to go a little crazy. that’s why it’s so delightful to find the sentences, “my navy blue father had blue jeans. My mother was very well read. they abandoned me”, and show a mother and father leaving in a boat, with a child abandoned on an island. then on the other page you get, “my marine father had blue genes. my mother was, well, read. they left me”. Yes. that’s a blue father, a red mother, and a maroon child. I can’t wait to see what book these guys come up with next. palindromes sounds too easy, but isn’t that the inevitable next step?
because of adam rex’s gum
oh no. Do you have gum stuck in your hair? don’t worry, I know a safe solution. a book where things get worse and worse, hilariously and catastrophically. When it comes to comic timing, Adam Rex may be outdoing Mo Willems and Bob Shea. This is a lot like Nailed by Oliver Jeffers, only instead of a tree it’s a boy’s head. and there is also much to enjoy about it. little details like the rabbit’s constant expression or the band-aids on the aunt’s chin in the final image (see if you can figure out how they got there). jokes land and land hard. my kids were rolling when I got to the line, “wait no. I’m thinking of the old cat. and on top of all that rhymes!? try reading this out loud to a group (you’ll need to practice beforehand because some of those rhymes aren’t obvious when you’re just reading a book in your head) and see what the results are.
snail crossing by corey r. tabor
Not only did I laugh out loud when I got to the end of this book, I kept huffing and puffing every time I remembered it for the rest of the day. now I’m the kind of person who lives in a state of perpetual anxiety when someone in a work of fiction doesn’t take proper precautions on the road. Whether it’s someone who doesn’t look at the road when driving or a snail who decides to stop short in the middle of a road and have tea with some ants inside his shell, if you have an anxious child, he may be biting his teeth. nails for a fool like me. assure you that everything will be fine. the snail will have its day. the lettuce will be consumed. and everything will be alright and everything will be alright and everything good will be alright.
there must be more than that! by Shinsuke Yoshitake, translated by Hakusensha, Inc.
yes, that’s fine. that is all. someone go and convince yoshitake to come live here in america. For years I have adored his books and the degree to which he continues to be good every time he does it amazes me. I’m sure you’ve come across one of his titles at some point, whether it was the boring book or still stuck. he just has this quirky, skewed, weird little look at life that no one else can replicate. In this particular book, an older brother tells his younger sister that in the future we will run out of food due to overpopulation, there will be plagues and wars, and aliens will invade. frightened, the girl runs to her grandmother, who assures her that adults have a terrible record when it comes to predicting the future. she assures the girl that she can try to think of her own future, and this leads to an extraordinary and eccentric array of possibilities, all ending with a good boiled egg. i tried this on my 6 year old son and yes indeed. laughter ah-lots. this is a sense of humor that translates with infinite ease.
unstoppable by adam rex, sick. laura park
See Also: David Ellis – Book Series In Order
what’s that you say? Are you saying I can’t have two adam rex books on the same list? How wrong are you! after reading this and because of the gum i was inspired to interview adam and the result is here if you are curious. In this book, the crab wishes he had wings. the raven wants to have claws. what happens when you put the two together? they become unstoppable! hilarity ensues and ensues. i can’t tell a lie i laughed so hard when this book went from being a fairly simple concept and then took it to the most extreme extreme. And I can see why Rex chose not to illustrate this himself. my only quibble is that you have no idea what you’re getting into with this cover. then again, that’s a good solid part of the fun. side question: why do all the funniest books have bears?
Do you want to see other lists? look what happened this month!
December 1st: fantastic board books
December 2nd – reprints of board books & adaptations
December 3: Transcendent Holiday Picture Books
December 4th – picture book reading
December 5 – picture books with rhymes
December 6th – fun picture books
December 7th – caldenotts
December 8 – Picture Book Reprints
December 9 – math books for children
December 10 – bilingual books
December 11 – books with a message
December 12 – fabulous photography
December 13 – translated illustrated books
December 14 – fairy tales / folk tales / religious tales
December 15 – picture books without words
See Also: 17 Children&039s Books About Female Empowerment – The Centered Parent
December 16 – poetry books
December 17: unconventional children’s books
December 18 – easy books & first chapter books
December 19 – comics & graphic novels
December 20: Old Funny Books
December 21 – science fiction books
December 22 – fantasy books
December 23 – informative fiction
December 24 – American history
December 25 – science & nature books
December 26 – unique biographies
December 27: Illustrated Nonfiction Books
December 28: Nonfiction Books for Older Readers
December 29: the best audiobooks for children
December 30 – middle grade novels
December 31 – illustrated books
enjoy!
Filed under: 31 days 31 lists, best books, best books of 2020
See Also: 14 Books Like The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher – TCK Publishing