Between our regular reading, blogging, and being a first round panelist for the Cybils, we read a lot of picture books this year. Here are the ones that made us laugh and giggle the most. Those in bold were sent to me for review from the author, illustrator, or publisher. The rest we picked up at our local library. They’re all fantastic.
All the images are Amazon affiliate links and you can click on them to learn more about them on Amazon.com or you can find out if your local library has them at WorldCat.org.
I have no affiliation with Addendum Books, but they’re my favorite bookstore. You can find these books and many more there, too!
Hamsters Don’t Fight Fires! is uplifting and makes you feel great about overcoming obstacles, but first and foremost, it is really, really funny. Hugo doesn’t let simple logistics — like being a hamster — prevent him from becoming who he wants to be: a firefighter.
The Peanut Fart is a bilingual Mandarin/English picture book about a snail, who after rejecting his fart, sets off to make sure his fart is safe and unharmed. He’s thrilled when he discovers his little fart has a family of his own and that he is a grandfather to a bunch of little farts. It’s beautiful, it’s brilliant, and it makes us laugh a lot.
Creepy Pair of Underwear is about a rabbit that begs for and then tries desperately to get rid of glowing green underwear — only to find out that he misses it when he finally does succeed. You say, “Creepy Pair of Underwear,” over and over again and the kids just can’t stop giggling.
In Still Stuck, a child gets stuck in his own shirt and imagines living out the rest of his life stuck in his shirt. As he tries to fix the situation, he only ends up making it worse. I laughed so hard I cried. It took me a couple of times before I could actually read the story all the way through without having to pause because I was laughing so hard. This is one of my absolute favorites.
Triangle goes to play a trick on Square, but it doesn’t turn out like either he or Square intended. Or does it? So simple, so funny.
Triangle is possibly our most read picture book of the year. My youngest laughs and laughs and laughs when we read it. Apparently Hissing and sneaking is the path to his funny bone.
This kid only wears green pants and when he does he can do anything! But then he’s asked to be in a wedding — will he be able to trade in his green pants for a pair of black tuxedo pants? It has a great message and great characters, and the set up and timing of this book’s humor is absolutely perfect.
Ever wonder why kids play Rock, Paper, Scissors? Here’s the origin story and it is hilarious.
Baabwaa & Wooliam have a nice life together reading and knitting, but one day Wooliam decides they need to go on an adventure and an adventure is what they get. They develop a tenuous and unlikely friendship with a wolf that makes all of them the better for it. The story is both highly unlikely and oddly realistic at the same time. The balance between these two opposites makes for a baffling but very funny and good-natured read. We love everything about this book.
Frank wakes up one morning missing a leg! Off he goes looking for his missing appendage but ultimately finds self-acceptance. People walking into spider webs is funny. Spiders crawling into people’s noses, even funnier. The uplifting message, the great design, and the humor make this book a huge win.
It’s time to go to bed — but things keep happening to keep these brother robots awake. My youngest one laughed so hard during one of the readings that we had to stop because he couldn’t breathe. It’s a fun book to read and do different robot voices for. The kids love this book.
This is not the book to read if you’re trying to improve your child’s grammar, but it is a wonderful book for laughs, giggles, and a sweet awww at the end. An adult and a child compare their size, their experiences (Me tired, You wired) and ultimately at the end the child knows they are loved. This one is tied with Triangle with one of the most read books of the year. It humorously captures the parent/child relationship in a beautiful and honest way.
In On the Spot there are reusable stickers in the back that your little ones place throughout the book on large white circles. Then you read the story with the images as part of the sentence. You end up reading some very silly sentences. My youngest one (almost 4) LOVES this book and giggles and giggles each time we read it. He loves to then rearrange the stickers and is amazed as I read it to him again. The crazier the sentence, the more it makes us giggle. It is very well done.
You may think you want a unicorn, but you’re wrong. Dyckman’s writing and timing will make you laugh out loud as she offers up many valid reasons as to why having a unicorn is a very bad idea. Trust her. The illustrations are perfectly paired for this story. But you’ll never look at cupcakes the same way again.
One day a wolf swallows a mouse. You’d think that’d be the end of the mouse — but it is only the beginning. Inside the wolf the mouse meets a duck and a friendship begins. This book is a wonderful fable about making the best of life after something you’re afraid of happens. But that’s not the point of this book — the point is to make you laugh bunches. Which it does. A lot.
Where is that smell coming from? Don’t worry — Inspector Croissant, Lady Pancake, and Sir French Toast are on the case. Told in rhyme and packed with puns and jokes — this one has my kids laughing and giggling and begging for me to read it to them over and over again. Excellent vocabulary, great rhythm, and engaging illustrations make this book a favorite.
Marigold loves Mondays because Mondays are for baking. Alone. But this particular Monday does not go as planned and it makes the kids laugh and laugh — and the parents sympathize and sympathize. Oh, Marigold! We all laugh at your plight, but I feel for you.
Rot got a great laugh out of us. It surprised us all — both at the beginning and then again at the end of the story. Rot’s such an endearing mutant potato and his self-confidence is a force to be reckoned with. When you finish the book you’ll wonder, “What just happened?” But you’ll be laughing all the same.
FTC Disclosures: Some of the links in the post above are Amazon affiliate links and others are IndieBound affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase something, I will receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Which goes to fund my family’s picture book habit. It’s a vicious cycle, but we manage. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The Picture Book Review 
Thanks for sharing this, a very hand list!
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