Favorite Funny Tales

Favorite Funny Tales

Booklist prepared by Laurel Indalecio
combining our Youth Services Staff
and Librarians' favorite funny tales.
 

A five-year-old boy thinks his body is falling apart until he learns new teeth grow and hair and skin replace themselves.

Twelve-year-old New York City twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are just as shocked as everyone else when Meg's hopes for popularity and Edward's mischievous schemes coincidentally collide in a hilarious showdown.

After the principal of P.S. 88 is turned into a frog by a bumbling magician, the frog bargains for the chance to act as principal until Mr. Bundy returns from his "family emergency."

A series of beginning readers following the madcap adventures of two cows who don't always follow the rest of the herd.

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.

A young worm discovers, day by day, that there are some very good and some not so good things about being a worm in this great big world.

Luther T. Farrel has got to get out of Flint, Michigan. As his best friend Sparky says, "Flint's nothing but the Titanic." And his mother, a.k.a. the Sarge, says, "Take my advice and stay off the sucker path." The Sarge milked the system to build an empire of slum housing and group homes. Luther's just one of the many people trapped in the Sarge's Evil Empire-but he's about to bust out.

 
   All Titles by this Author

Best known for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl has written many other books that tickle the funny bone just right.

Hoping to get some sleep, Little Runt boots his hog family out of bed one by one, but then finds that he needs them back again.

An update of the Little Red Hen, where Mr. Wolf manages to make pancakes all by himself when his nasty fairy tale neighbors won’t stop help him.

"Bark, George," says George's mother, and George goes: "Meow," which definitely isn't right, because George is a dog. And so is his mother, who repeats, "Bark, George." And George goes, "Quack, quack." What's going on with George?

Before your very eyes, this little redhead is about to do something extremely daring. And scary. And she'll show you--she'll actually document, step-by-step--exactly how she does it. First, she takes her daddy and makes him stand very still, then, balancing herself on his shoe, she wraps her arms tightly around a leg and starts her perilous ascent to the summit.

Frank the monster indulges his love of dancing by strutting his stuff on stage until his head unzips, his brains flop out, and he continues to lose body parts.

A young llama asks his friends if their mamas are llamas and finds out, in rhyme, that their mothers are other types of animals.

Little wolf is tired of eating lamburgers and sloppy does, but when he tricks his parents into thinking there is a boy in the woods, they could all miss a chance for a real feast.

  The Checker Playing Hound
  Dog:  Tall Tales from a
  Southwestern Storyteller

Ever heard of a dog that plays checkers? A wind so strong it moved the city limits? A fish that needed a haircut: You'll find these outrageous tales and some even taller ones in this collection from the repertoire of master storyteller Joe Hayes.

An illustrated version of the well-known poem about a wily spider who preys on the vanity and innocence of a little fly.

           The Mightiest

The Lion, the Bear, and the Elephant compete to see who can do the best job scaring a tiny old woman, but she has a surprise for them.

      Armadillo Tattletale

Armadillo's habit of eavesdropping and then misreporting what he hears makes the other animals so angry that they find a way to keep him from overhearing their private conversations.

A collection of humorous laws from across the country, along with information on why we have laws, how they are established, and why some of these may not be as funny as they seem.

Howard and the monster under his bed decide on a plan to convince their mothers that both of them have reason to be afraid after dark

What happens if the babysitter is really a pirate who can't wait to hold a party in your house?  In the next story who will rescue the kidnapped librarian from the ill-read robbers?

A collection of zany, off-beat stories.  Perfect for reading aloud.

An alphabetical collection of articles about disgusting things, from acne, ants, and bacteria to worms,
x-periments, and zits.

Penny Lee loves to watch television so much that she has no time for anything else, but one day when the television stops working, her dog Mr. Barkley shows her some of the other fun things they can do.

After learning that she was adopted, thirteen-year-old Saffron's relationship with her eccentric, artistic family changes, until they help her go back to Italy where she was born to find a special memento of her past

Jimmy's boa constrictor wreaks havoc on the class trip to a farm.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,
If You Give a Pig a Pancake,
& other books by this author

If you give mouse a cookie what will he ask for to go with it?  Find out what happens if you give a pig a pancake, or a moose a muffin in Numeroff's hilarious madcap adventures.

Ducktective Web and his partner try to quack the case of the pilfered peck of perfectly picked pickled peppers.

Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.

Mrs. Potter keeps everything perfectly clean, except for her baby daughter Ermajean, who delights in being so messy that she seems to turn into a pig.

A family may have to get rid of their new pet, a cute puppy that eats everything in sight, including toys, bowls, and porches.

When the teacher tells his class that they can hear the poetry of science in everything, a student is struck with a curse and begins hearing nothing but science verses that sound very much like some well-known poems.

Madcap revisions of familiar fairy tales.

A young boy is depicted doing a variety of naughty things for which he is repeatedly admonished, but finally he gets a hug.

                Dirt Boy

    Little Wolf (Series)

A frog in the bog grows larger and larger as he eats more and more bugs, until he attracts the attention of an alligator who puts an end to his eating.

A troll tries to prevent Trigg from crossing the bridge on the way to school only to be outwitted by the boy's riddles.

King Bidgood refuse to leave his bathtub to the dismay of his royal court.  Find out what happens  when the members try to dislodge the King from his sudsy "throne".