Funniest books for children

Most children say that they want books that will make them laugh, so don't miss the 2020 Laugh Out Loud (The Lollies) shortlist which highlights this year's funniest books for children.

The shortlist was announced by Michael Rosen, children's writer, poet and former Childrens Laureate. The awards, now in its fourth year, was created by Scholastic UK to celebrate the funniest children's books. Rosen said, "Anyone around children looking for books to have them giggling and laughing over and over again, these 12 books will do the job. Funny books are so important because they draw you through, and you have a wonderful, time and feel good. What could be better than that?" The Lollies are awarded in three categories: Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book, Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6-8 year olds and Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13 year olds. Here are the shortlists for each category: Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book: Baby's First Bank Heist by Jim Whalley, illus Stephen Collins (Bloomsbury) Spyder by Matt Carr (Scholastic) Ten Fat Sausages by Michelle Robinson, illus Tor Freeman (Andersen Press) You're Called What?! by Kes Gray, illus Nikki Dyson (Macmillan) Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6-8 year olds: Bad Nana: Older Not Wiser by Sophy Henn (HarperCollins) The Legend of Kevin by Philip Reeve, illus Sarah McIntyre (OUP) The Nothing to See Here Hotel by Steven Butler, illus Steven Lenton (Simon and Schuster) World's Worst Children 3 by David Walliams, illus Tony Ross (HarperCollins) Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13 year olds: I Bet I Can Make You Laugh by Joshua Seigal, illus Tim Wesson (Bloomsbury) I Swapped My Brother on the Internet by Jo Simmons, illus Nathan Reed (Bloomsbury) Kid Normal and the Rogue Heroes by Greg James and Chris Smith, illus Erica Salcedo (Bloomsbury) Planet Stan by Elaine Wickson, illus Chris Judge The winning book in each category will be decided solely by children's votes, with schools and parents encouraged to help kids get involved and vote via the Lollies website, www.scholastic.co.uk/lollies, or via the Lollies PopJam channel. The winning books will be announced in early 2020. The Lollies were created in response to findings from the Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report (www.scholastic.co.uk/readingreport) which found that two-thirds of children aged 6-17 looked for "books that make me laugh" when choosing books themselves.