Just for Laughs

Here’s a list of humorous stories sure to tickle your funny-bone. The list is subdivided by reading level. Please remember that these grade levels are only approximations and are not intended to limit the reader. Books are arranged on the shelves by the author’s last name in the sections below.

A = Title available in print or on audiobook

J FICTION  (Grades 2-3)

Julian, Secret Agent by Ann Cameron
Julian, his little brother Huey, and their friend Gloria decide to be “crime busters.”   62 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

What’s Cooking, Jenny Archer? by Ellen Conford
Jenny Archer has a few mishaps when she goes into business preparing lunches for friends at school.  69 pgs.   (Look for other titles featuring Jenny Archer.)

Max Malone the Magnificent by Charlotte Herman
After seeing the Great Butoni perform at the local library, Max decides he wants to become a magician.   59 pgs.   (Look for other titles by this author.)

Mush, a Dog from Space by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
When Kelly’s family moves into a house, she gets a baby-sitter instead of the dog she’s always wanted. Then she meets Mush, a mushamute from the planet Growf-Woof-Woof. Now Kelly only needs to persuade her parents to let her keep Mush.  55 pgs. (Look for other titles by this author.)

Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith  A
After eating too much chocolate, Henry makes medical history with the only case of Chocolate Fever ever.    93 pgs.

Tooter Pepperday by Jerry Spinelli
When Tooter is forced by her family to move to her Aunt Sally’s farm, she hates the idea of leaving her old neighborhood and resorts to sabotage.   85 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

J FICTION (Grades 3-6)

Snarf Attack, Underfoodle, and the Secret Life:  The Riot Brothers Tell All by Mary Amato
If you liked Captain Underpants, you will want to read about the adventures of prankster brothers Wilber and Orville.  151 pgs.

Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary  A
Henry Huggins and his friend Beezus come up with various ideas to make money for a bicycle.   192 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money by Christopher Paul Curtis   A
Flint Future Detective Club members Steven Carter, his friend Russell, and Russell's huge dog Zoopy solve the mystery of a quadrillion-dollar bill with the image of James Brown on it.
151 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl  A
You’ve seen the movie, try the book. Charlie Bucket finds a Golden Ticket in his chocolate bar that takes him on an incredible tour of Willy Wonka’s famous chocolate factory.  161 pgs.  

The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle
The Mack children, a talking dog, and small elf-like creatures called Gigglers try to stop the prank the Gigglers have mistakenly set in motion to punish Mr. Mack for being mean to his children.    112 pgs.

My Mom the Pirate by Jackie French
When Cecil asks his mother, a privateer for Queen Elizabeth, to go to school she insists it be the best one in the world, only it is over four hundred years in the future. Can Cecil survive parent-teacher night without his mom embarrassing him in front of all of his friends? 107 pgs

The Get Rich Quick Club by Dan Gutman
Summer vacation in their small Maine town does not look too promising until twelve-year-old Gina and four of her friends make a pact to become millionaires before school starts in September.    118 pgs.

Captain Tweakerbeak’s Revenge by Charles Haddad
When mischievous Calliope Day talks her new friend into bringing Captain Tweakerbeak, the parrot, to school for a prank, the results are so hilarious that Calliope decides to keep the bird for herself.   185 pgs.

Make Four Million Dollars By Next Thursday! by Stephen Manes
Jason attracts a lot of attention when he follows the zany advice in a get-rich-quick book.   87 pgs.

The Quigleys by Simon Mason   A
In an ordinary city, on an ordinary street, in an ordinary house live the Quigleys: Lucy, Will, Mum, and Dad.   148 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.) 

Clemency Pogue:  Fairy Killer by J. T. Petty  A
Clever and resourceful Clemency must travel the world to reanimate fairies she has accidentally killed.   120 pgs. (Look for other titles by this author.) 

The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson   A
The six horrible Herdmans, the worst kids in the history   of the world, cause mayhem throughout the school year.  117 pgs. Look for other titles by this author.

Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar   A
Humorous episodes from the class on the 30th floor of Wayside School are presented. Students learn to tango, face the cafeteria’s dreaded Mushroom Surprise, and study a hobo during Show and Tell.   179 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Dodger and Me by Jordan Sonnenblick
Miserable because his only friend moved away and he has once again caused his baseball team to lose a game, fifth-grader Willy Ryan's life suddenly becomes a lot more interesting. He finds Dodger, a furry, blue chimpanzee that only he can see, and he has to decide what he really wishes for in life.   171 pgs.

JH FICTION (Grades 6-8)

The Heroic Life of Al Capsella by Judith Clarke
Fourteen-year-old Al, desperately trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd, is constantly embarrassed by his highly unconventional parents.   152 pgs.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell   A
The adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third are chronicled as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a dragon. 214 pgs.

Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech   A
Mary Lou Finney keeps a journal during the summer she is thirteen.  What starts out as a boring school project becomes the record of  the most exciting summer of her life. 230 pgs.

There’s A Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger
On her own for the first time, 14-year-old Marcy tries to cope with new people and situations she encounters while working as a counselor at an arts camp.   150 pgs.

Annoyance Bureau by Lucy Frank
While spending his Christmas vacation in New York with his father and new step-family, Lucas meets a rebellious agent of the secret Annoyance Bureau, which exists to control or eliminate all sources of annoyance in the modern world.   169 pgs.

Heads or Tails: Stories from the Sixth Grade by Jack Gantos   A
Jack’s diary helps him deal with his problems, which include dog-eating alligators, a terror for an older sister, and really weird next-door neighbors.   151 pgs.

Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm
The first year of middle school can be exciting, or scary, just ask Ginny who tells her hilarious story through notes, grocery receipts, report cards, bottle caps, and a vast array of other items.  (unpaged)

Monsieur Eek by David Ives
When a chimpanzee arrives in MacOongafoondsen, he is put on trial for being a thief and a French spy, resulting in some changes to the tiny town.   179 pgs.

Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall by Gordan Korman
A wave of practical jokes hits the school and roommates Bruno and Boots become prime suspects.   198 pgs.

Letters From Camp by Kate Klise
Sent to Camp Happy Harmony to learn how to get along with each other, pairs of brothers and sisters chronicle in letters home how they come to suspect the dubious intentions of the family running the camp.   178 pgs.

Have a Hot Time, Hades! by Kate McMullan
Upset at being cast as the bad guy in ancient mythology, Hades tells his side of the story to set the record straight. 144 pgs.

Death By Eggplant by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe
Life gets a little complicated when Bertie Hooks is faced with a decision to successfully take care of a flour-sack baby for the final ten days of eighth grade, repeat eighth grade, or even worse, attend summer school.  134 pgs.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck    A
Joey recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister, Mary Alice, during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother.   148 pgs.   (Also look for the sequel: A Year Down Yonder)

SHORT STORIES & JOKE BOOKS (Grades 4-8)

Tripping Over the Lunch Lady:  And Other School Stories
J 808.831 TRI
The ten stories collected in this book are about life in school, from trouble with science projects to the dreaded career report to new kids, and missing the school bus.    177 pgs.

Jokelopedia:  The Biggest, Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever
J 818.5402 JOK
Jokelopedia contains over 1700 jokes, riddles, knock-knock jokes, and puns for any occasion, and also includes brief blurbs about comedians and comedy shows.   278 pgs.  (Look for other joke books in J 818.)

This list was updated by
Youth Services at St. Charles Public Library
(630) 584-9390

rev. 6/08 MEC