Our Readings Kids shop manager, Dani Solomon, picks her favourite funny books of the year. This is an eclectic collection of titles, ranging from picture books all the way through to fantasy, with plenty of manga in between, and (of course) lots of laughs throughout!

My Parents Won't Stop Talking by Emma Hunsinger & Tillie Walden

This book made me laugh out loud. Molly and her family are going to the park - how exciting! Unfortunately, her parents bump into their neighbours, the Credenzas. Molly is as dramatic as she can possibly be when you're waiting for your parents to stop discussing gluten free crystals on the street, but time moves differently when you're six and even if you're very good at being patient, as Molly claims to be, there comes a point when you start to think maybe this is it, maybe your whole life will be spent waiting for your parents to stop talking to your neighbours, maybe this is all there is left, just waiting... waiting to visit a park you're not even sure exists anymore... A hilarious book about how hard it is to be patient.

For ages 3 and up.

The 156-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Every year I have reason to include the latest treehouse book in my round up of funniest books of the year, and this year Andy and Terry have not let me down. The 156-Storey Treehouse has got everything you'd hope for in a treehouse, including a dozen things us mere mortals couldn't even dream of imagining. It's the Treehouse Does Christmas this year and it's up to Andy and Terry to save Christmas (after being the ones to very accidentally almost ruin it with the infamous cloning machine, of course). As good as ever, the treehouse series is the gift that keeps on giving.

For ages 6 and up.

Duck’s Backyard by Ulrich Hub & Jörg Mühle

Duck has a wonky leg, he's lived his whole life in his backyard and is too scared to leave. Chicken is blind, but very determined, so when she stumbles into duck’s backyard, she convinces him (eventually) to go on an adventure. This bickering odd couple is absolutely hilarious, as they travel on their journey together, ready to give up at any moment. But a beautiful friendship is forged and they are both changed forever. Funny and philosophical, this is a great chapter book.

For ages 6 and up.

Barb the Brave by Dan Abdo & Jason Patterson

Barb is a Berzerker and an adventurer. Sure, she's a literal child, and her fellow adventurers, at least at the start of the book, are all adults called things like Claymore, Thunder and Boulder, but Barb does NOT let that stop her. Soon she is off on her own quest to stop a deliciously evil villain with her new party who include Kate, a regular farm girl who's a dab hand with a sling shot; Porkchop, a Yeti who loves sausage, and Slime Jaw, a cyclops whose weapon of choice is a snot launcher. Barb the Brave is full of humour and so much heart. As Barb herself would say, 'Dude, this book is rad'.

For ages 6 and up.

How to Be A Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five by Carla Fitzgerald

When Harper's dad becomes Prime Minister everyone is happy except... well, Harper's dad. He sort of only got the job by accident and is very much in over his head, so he does what any grown up would do in this situation - he runs away. But he leaves his phone behind and Harper who is just a little smarter than her dad picks it up and decides it’s time a kid took over. Convincing everyone her dad is sick and can't talk, Harper runs the country via text. But running the country while still attending school is a lot harder than it looks - it's very easy to accidentally join America in their bid to start their own separate Olympics, or to accidentally name the prestigious new fountain outside Parliament House ‘Umillgetbacktoyou’. But Harper will not be deterred, she has a chance to ban all plastic water bottles, make up public holidays and convince Australia that real men are not afraid of a little glitter, and she's not going to pass that up.

For ages 9 and up.

 Special price

Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate

This manga is sure to make you laugh. The protagonist is Shoyo Hinata, who despite his short stature is determined to become the world's greatest volleyball player. He joins his school volleyball club only to learn he is the sole member. He spends the rest of the year convincing his friends to join so they can enter an interschool competition, only to be crushed by their opponents. My favourite thing about Haikyu - apart from how seriously these boys take the sport of volleyball (no shade to any volleyball players out there!) - is how much they support each other's passion and lift each other up. When they are soundly defeated, they pick themselves up, take notes, encourage each other, and play on. This is a feel-good story 'hidden' in a manga about volleyball!

For ages 10 and up.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

This is a kind and happy fantasy story about an Orc Barbarian who decides to retire from a life of mercenary murder and open a coffee shop in a big bustling city that's never heard of coffee. It's an excellent break from the dark, heavy fantasy novels that regularly hit our shelves, and contains all the things I love about fantasy. But instead of epic wars and royalty, it's a story about a local community banding together around an Orc with a dream. Legends and Lattes is especially good if you're a foodie - step aside Lembas bread, Thimblet's cinnamon rolls are on the menu.

For ages 14 through to adult.

Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo

The premise should be enough to convince you that this Manga is hilarious. Master Spy, Twilight, has been assigned a mission to infiltrate a private school. But to do that he needs a wife and kids. No problem for a Master Spy, right? Except, unbeknownst to him his new wife is an assassin, and his adopted daughter, Anya, a secret telepath. Happily, Anya, who has suddenly found herself in a loving family is in no rush to give away their identities, but keeping the secrets of assassins and spies is busy work.

For ages 14 through to adult.