Funny Picture Books Perfect for Guest Readers
By: Jackie Humphrey
I think all parents at one time or another are asked by their child’s teacher to volunteer to come into the classroom and be a guest reader. Usually your child gets to sit next to you in the place of honor while you sit in front of the class and read a picture book. It’s. A. Big. Deal. Choosing the right book can be daunting! Beautiful, award winning illustrations are great but what the kids really want is to laugh. You may be reading between their math time and a spelling test so these entertaining books may be the break they need. Even if you’re not reading to a whole class, these humorous book will entertain you as much as your kids.
I Yam a Donkey by Cece Bell
Confusion abounds when a poorly spoken donkey says to a yam who happens to be a grammarian “I Yam a Donkey”.
Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown
When Lucy, a young bear, discovers a boy lost in the woods, she asks her mother if she can have him as a pet, only to find him impossible to train.
Flight of the Dodo by Peter Brown
Penguin and his other flightless bird friends invent a flying machine but they fly right into a thunderstorm.
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
When Farmer Brown’s cows find a typewriter in the barn, they start making demands and go on strike when the farmer refuses to give them what they want.
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
A young worm discovers day by day that there are some very good and some not so good things about being a worm.
How to Clean Your Room in 10 Easy Steps by Jennifer LaRue Huget
A young girl provides unique advice on how to tidy a bedroom.
Do Not Open This Book! By Michaela Muntean
As Pig works diligently on his writing masterpiece, he begs his audience for quiet and privacy so he can finish his work but readers will not be able to control themselves as each turn of the page proves to be a comical disruption.
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll
Checking under the bed for his monster, Ethan discovers that he is gone fishing for a week and realizing he can’t sleep without him, tries to find a substitute monster.
The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak
A silly read-aloud book that combines a deliberately image-free format with wacky nonsense text, goofy song lyrics and more.
Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
A pair of chopstick who are best friends find them separated for the first time by a fork in the road that compels them to learn how to function apart.
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins.
Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
Mr. Panda patiently and politely shares his donuts with his friends who forget to say “please” and “thank you.”