Some of our favorite funny stories for school-age children.
Older Elementary
A boy recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinoiswith his sister during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother. (You can also read the very funny Newbery award-winning sequel, A Year Down Yonder.)
A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything.
Babymouse: book 1
An imaginative mouse dreams of being queen of the world, but will settle for an invitation to the most popular girl's slumber party.
Supremely confident middle school student Nate Wright manages to make getting detention from every one of his teachers in the same day seem like an achievement. Look for more Big Nate titles.
Elderly Monsieur Noel, the very unconventional new eighth-grade teacher, gives coupon books for such things as dancing in class and sleeping late, which are bound to get him in trouble with the military discipline of Principal Incarnation Perez.
Dragonbreath: book 3
When Danny Dragonbreath's best friend Wendell the iguana is bitten by one of the hot dogs from his school lunch, he begins to turn into a were-wiener.
When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.
Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage.
Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal.
Twelve-year-old Henry's grand adventures spell disaster for best chums Riley and Reed, who always seems to land in a pile of "smelly goo."
NERDS: book 1
While running a spy network from their elementary school, five unpopular misfits combine their talents and use cutting-edge gadgetry to fight evil.
Nicholas, a French schoolboy, and his classmates have a knack for landing in trouble. Look for more Nicholas titles.
Ramona meets lots of interesting people in kindergarten class, like Davy whom she keeps trying to kiss and Susan whose springy curls seem to ask to be pulled.
Regarding the --: book 1
When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results. (First in the Regarding the… series.)
Humorous episodes from the classroom on the thirtieth floor of Wayside School, which was accidentally built sideways with one classroom on each story.
When Queen Guinivere is kidnapped, it is up to Sir Gadabout, the worst knight in King Arthur's court, to find and rescue her. Look for more Sir Gadabout titles.
When George and Harold hypnotize their principal into thinking that he is the superhero Captain Underpants, he leads them to the lair of the nefarious Dr. Diaper, where they must defeat his evil robot henchmen. Look for more Captain Underpants titles.
Kidsnatched from her orphanage by a BFG (Big Friendly Giant), who spends his life blowing happy dreams to children, Sophie concocts with him a plan to save the world from other man-gobbling giants.
A talking dog, the Mack children, and the elf-like Gigglers themselves must try to stop the prank that the Gigglers have mistakenly set in motion to punish Mr. Mack for being mean to his children.
Arthur goes to pick up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner but comes back with a 260-pound chicken. (Related titles: Looking for Bobowicz, and The Artsy Smartsy Club.)
The reader is invited to help solve the Pepin family's unusual problems, which includes having a cow who creates lemonade rather than milk.
Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda.
During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.
The Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.
Ten-year-old Thora, daughter of a mermaid mother and a human father, has many adventures at sea until she must return to the English seaside town of Grimli and save her mother who has been captured by the greedy real estate developer, Frooty de Mare. (Read more about Thora in Thora and the Green Sea-Unicorn.)
Younger Elementary
Kitty and Puppy stay with Uncle Murray. It isn't long before Uncle Murray is driven to near madness by shenanigans of epic proportions.
Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, a trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely companion.
While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.
A most unusual new student who loves to be the center of attention entertains her teacher and fellow second graders by telling absolutely true stories about herself, including how she got her name.
Follow Henry as he tries to have a perfect day, disrupts a dance recital with his imitation of a pterodactyl and sabotages a family camping vacation. Look for more Horrid Henry titles.
In this version of "Little Red Riding Hood," a big, bad girl terrorizes a wolf cub who is going to visit his granny wolf.
My weird school: book 1
Miss Daisy's unusual teaching methods surprise her second grade students, especially reluctant learner A.J. (First in the My Weird School series.)
After second-grader Stink gets an unsatisfactory grade in physical education, his parents tell him he must play a sport and so he masters thumb wrestling, as seen on a sports channel.
Two beavers thwart an evil plot by penguins who plan to turn Beaver Island into a frosty resort.
Black Lagoon adventures: book 4
Mean Mrs. Green says that everyone has to invent something for the school science fair. But everyone would rather invent a way to get out of it!
As Mr. Gaskitt takes a series of jobs and Mrs. Gaskitt keeps winning prizes, their nine-year-old twins, Gus and Gloria, follow a substitute teacher who seems too good to be true.