Funny Stories for Kids – 22 Books Kids Will LOVE – Toddler to Tweens
I’m looking over at my 8-year-old cracking up with laughter 10 minutes after I told her it was bedtime. She begins to fake a meltdown immediately of course but funny stories for kids are her absolute favourite. That means whenever I say it’s bedtime she immediately pulls out her Kindle and says ok I just want to read a bit first.
We’ve been playing this game for a few years now. I yell bedtime and she begins to bawl something about life not being fair because she just started whatever new Youtube video she was watching or Minecraft world she was building. So she tries to buy a few more minutes by reading, not knowing that that is exactly the plan.
I know her groove now. I know the exact books that get her to bust out laughing when she’s reading so I wanted to share her favourites with you over the past few years.
In this post you'll find:
Unlimited Funny Stories For Kids
First of all, reading gets expensive when you have a kid who secretly enjoys reading as much as mine does. I’m so glad for inventions like the Kindle that keep all our books in one place and at our fingertips anywhere we are on whatever device instead of having to schlep around all these books that litter my bookshelves, nightstands, and beyond. Can I get a high-five for Kindles?
I also subscribe to Kindle Unlimited to keep up with both her and my reading habits. For one stupid low monthly price (currently $9.99 monthly) we can read an insane amount of books without paying any additional cost. That means if she wants to read a different book each night, it won’t hurt my pocket.
Of course, not all the awesome books you may want to read are covered under the Kindle Unlimited subscription fee, but an incredible number of awesome books are and so if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you and your kid will be able to read most of the below titles without paying extra.
Remember you don’t actually have to have a physical Kindle device to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. You can download the Kindle App on any device for free and use it to access all your Kindle books including those covered under the Kindle Unlimited subscription.
This has come in so useful on days when I forget to bring my Kindle on a road trip and I or my little one feel like reading. I simply fire up the app and we’re catching up where we left off on our shared Kindle.
Funny Books for Toddlers
One of my favourite things to observe is munchkin reading to younger kids. She gets really animated to make the stories come alive for her little friends and cousins. The Day the Crayons Quit was a particularly animated story that little kids love to hear her read and can’t help to crack up at all the funny little protests by the crayons. The story is adorable and your little one will surely enjoy it.
I Don’t Want to Be a Frog is another hit with the little ones. This froggy has a serious identity crisis until he befriends a fox that doesn’t like to eat frogs! Then, it’s not so bad anymore. Toddlers love the exploration of the frog til he finally accepts that he’s just fine as he is.
The Three Little Pigs have had enough and are now ninjas ready for the big bad wolf! Little boys and girls who love a good bout of action will love this very cute rhyming book, The Three Ninja Pigs!
I follow the author Eva Chen on Instagram and I absolutely adore her and her little kiddos so I am certain this book will be a big hit! I’ve preordered it and can’t wait to see Munchkin read this one to her small friends. Eva Chen is the fashion director at Instagram and she was once EIC of Lucky Magazine and others. I really dig her quirky sense of fashion and her funny IG stories with her kids so I have high expectations for this book Juno Valentine all about magical shoes. Every girl needs a pair of those!
Funny Books for Kids 4-Year-Old +
If your kiddo giggles at any mention of the word butt, they’ll love this book. In Where is My Butt by Donald Budge, this silly penguin goes all over the world in search of his butt, only to find it in the most hilarious of places! My little girl laughed so hard at this one when she was younger that it gets first place on my list. Good times.
This book was in the recommendations when I purchased a book about butts so of course I grabbed it too. Walter the Farting Dog farts almost as much as my little girl so she related to this book and laughed out loud when reading it.
Another one that was a big hit with the kiddo even though it’s not a storybook. She’s constantly trying to crack jokes for a crowd so I bought this one for her to sharpen her skills. She’s a real gem at a party thanks to Silly Jokes for Silly Kids. This is one that was free with my Kindle Unlimited subscription, click here to grab a free trial.
I’ve always enjoyed watching munchkin and her grandpa’s loving relationship so this book was extra special when she was a tiny little munchkin. It gave her lots of ideas in a cute and funny way that wasn’t too cliche. I definitely recommend How to Babysit a Grandpa or the grandma version.
Related: Happy Birthday Wishes for Papa – How to Send Heartfelt Wishes to Dad
Books for 7-10-Year-Olds
Only munchkin could tell you what was so funny about this book because she read this one to herself in parts at bedtime. She loved it so much that we ended up getting a couple of others in the My Fox Ate My… series of books. I’m happy that this whole series is also included in a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It was a joy to hear her cracking up with laughter reading a book with very few pictures.
Of course, all the reviews said this book was good for young boys. I grabbed it up because my little girl is in karate class and has always wanted to be a ninja so I thought this book would give her an inside sneak peak. She loved it, it cracked her up and also helped her to maneuver situations of bullying at school. Gender norms be damned, I definitely recommend Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja.
This book may be a little advanced for an 8yo but I like to push munchkin’s imagination and bring her into some real-life situations. This book gave a little bit of that and she enjoyed every bit of it. Jacky Ha-ha has some real problems coping with and my little one could use it to get a grip on her life in which everything is always SO UNFAIR! *cue dramatic meltdown for effect*
Of course, the first book of jokes went over so well I had to get one more as she got older. This Giant Book of Jokes, Riddles and Brain Teasers has satisfied the funny bone well and given her more material to continue being the life of the party.
This book isn’t funny but it’s certainly fun! My little one loves to experiment with arts, crafts and science experiments so this book was the perfect way encourage her curiosity a little more. The Everything Kids Science Experiments Book has lots of fun experiments that don’t need expensive things to do. I also loved that lots of them were instant gratification but some of them needed time to come together which taught patience and other life lessons.
Invisible Emmie was an awesome book for munchkin who is a little bigger than all the other girls in her class and so is sometimes gets teased for that. This is a funny story of how Emmie handles that and finds her inner voice while dealing with the usual middle school drama, crushes on boys and popular girls included.
Non-Funny Books for Tweens
I know this list is supposed to be funny books but I’m veering off track for the tween section of this list and pointing to some books that have been helpful in managing life with an emotional pre-tween. My little girl is a sensitive super-emotional one and I wanted help to bridge some topics with her as she matured and went into a school environment that was also a little more mature than I was ready for at this age. Loved these books.
If you’re looking for a book that will help you to start the conversation going about your body and the different types of relationships, this is it. I decided I wanted to control the conversation and be the one to introduce my child to homosexual, transexual, lesbian etc individuals and this book helped to bring all that to life in a non-weird, simply informational way. It’s done in comic style and very matter-of-factly.
This book, Sex is a Funny Word, doesn’t go into sex and babymaking, its meant to just help kids begin to understand their bodies and the changes they’re going through. I don’t recommend you get the digital version of this book as it wasn’t edited properly for screens. The text is unbelievably small.
This book, The One and Only Ivan, was a great introduction to novels for munchkin. The story was touching, went through a spectrum of emotions, made her cry, laugh and ask the type of questions I want my child to ask of this world and of life. I highly recommend it.
Munchkin took note of me meditating one day and wanted to try it too but gave up later saying how boring it was. Later, she started reading up on telekinesis and read that you should meditate to make it work. Whatever it was that got her willing to give it another try, I was happy to be able to help her along on a journey of mindfulness. What Does It Mean to Be Present helped me to practically explain why I meditate and how it can help her to be present at school.
I loved all the diversity in this book. I urge you to head over to Amazon and take a look at a few of the pages of this Master of Mindfulness book since it was written and illustrated by kids and you can definitely tell. That being said, with adult supervision, this book is easy to navigate with your child and can help with some mindfulness exercises and situations that need the practice of mindfulness.
Adventure Books for Tweens
Back to regular programming, these books hit the spot for my book lover.
It seems that series has been around for a while but I was unfamiliar with it. I got it for munchkin after watching the Netflix version and she quite enjoys the book! I like that A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning is not typical fairytale stuff and awakens her imagination. The story takes her through a painfully hilarious adventure that keeps her engrossed for (what seems like) hours! I also love the big vocabulary which will no doubt expand her own by leaps and bounds.
Code 7 was a super fun book following 7 industrious kids who take on all kinds of epic life-changing adventures on a path or creating their own future. I liked the story for helping to reinforce my vision for my little wannabe vlogger who is bound to make a living in an unconventional way, just like her mama.
We got Trapped in a Video Game solely because of the name since munchkin is currently obsessed with all things Minecraft, Roblox and Nintendo Switch. She found the story quite funny as the main character tries to convince the game which he’s stuck in that he needs to go home and do homework. I wish she would try as hard to stop playing games so she can do homework!
How many books about standing out and trying to fit in can you read? Except, you must put this one on your list. The main character is a Russian growing up with friends in fancy houses and luxury summer camps. Her mom sends her to a Russian summer camp and she’s excited because she thinks she’ll finally fit in! But…she doesn’t. Be Prepared is hilarious and reads beautifully, my little one loved it.
Some images from Depositphotos. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
So many great options. I haven’t been taking full advantage of my kindle subscription. I think my kids would love it! Thank you!
yes my pocket would burn without it! lol