'Laugh Out Loud' (Lollies) 2023 shortlists announced

The shortlists for the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards (The Lollies), a set of awards created by Scholastic UK that celebrate the funniest children's books, have been announced today.

The Lollies, which were created in response to the end of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2015, have been expanded this year with new categories following the news that the Blue Peter Book Awards have also ended.

The Lollies recognise and celebrate funny books, the importance of which was highlighted by Scholastic's Kids and Family Reading Report: UK Edition which revealed that nearly two thirds of kids aged 6-17 chose "books that make me laugh" as their top pick when reading for pleasure.

Ella McLeod, author of Rapunzella or Don't Touch My Hair and Lollies Judge, said: "It's not always easy to encourage young people to read but it's vital that we do, and comedy seems like an excellent place to start. Laughter is such a great unifier, isn't it? A shared sense of humour can really connect people and I hope this shortlist provides ample opportunity for kids to sit and chat and giggle together."

The Lollies is one of the few awards where the winners are determined by children's votes alone.  The winners will be announced in July 2023. 

The shortlists for each category are:

Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book

Agent Llama - written by Angela Woolfe, illustrated by Duncan Beedie (Little Tiger)

Ten Delicious Teachers - written by Ross Montgomery, illustrated by Sarah Warburton (Walker)

The King's Birthday Suit - written by Peter Bently, illustrated by Claire Powell (Bloomsbury)

Wee? It Wasn't Me! - written by Clare Helen Walsh, illustrated by Nicola O'Byrne (Macmillan)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book ages 6-8

A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch - written by Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Thomas Flintham (Nosy Crow)

Genie and Teeny: Make a Wish - written and illustrated by Steven Lenton (Harper Collins)

Grimwood - written and illustrated by Nadia Shireen (Simon and Schuster)

The Worst Class in the World Gets Worse - written by Joanna Nadin, illus Rikin Parekh (Bloomsbury)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book ages 9-12

A Dinosaur Ate My Sister - written by Pooja Puri, illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan (Macmillan)

Freddy vs School - written and illustrated by Neill Cameron (David Fickling)

The Amazing Edie Eckhart - written by Rosie Jones, illustrated by Natalie Smillie (Hachette)

The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh - written by Helen Rutter, illus Andrew Bannecker (Scholastic)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book for Teens

Hexed - written by Julia Tuffs (Hachette)

Not My Problem - written by Ciara Smyth (Andersen)

The Summer We Turned Green - written by William Sutcliffe (Bloomsbury)

You're the One That I Want - written by Simon James Green (Scholastic)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book - Non-Fiction

A Day in the Life of a Caveman, a Queen and Everything in Between - written by Mike Barfield, illustrated by Jess Bradley (Michael O'Mara)

Corpse Talk: Dead Good Storytellers - written by Adam and Lisa Murphy (David Fickling)

So You Think You've Got It Bad? A Kid's Life in the Aztec Age - written by Chae Strathie, illustrated by

Marisa Morea (Nosy Crow)

Unleash Your Creative Monster: A Children's Guide to Writing - written by Andy Jones, illustrated by Olaf Falafel (Walker)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book - Poetry

Daydreams and Jellybeans - written by Alex Wharton, illustrated by Katy Riddell (Firefly Press)

Midnight Magic: Mirror Mischief - written by Michelle Harrison, illustrated by Elissa Elwick (Little Tiger)

Yapping Away - written by Joshua Seigal, illustrated by Sarah Horne (Bloomsbury)

This is NOT a Unicorn - written by Barry Timms, illustrated by Ged Adamson (Nosy Crow)

Best Laugh Out Loud Illustrator of the Year

Dapo Adeola
Liz Pichon
Steven Lenton
Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet

The shortlists were selected by a panel of judges: Lollies Ambassador Michael Rosen, illustrator Anita Mangan, authors Ella McLeod and Steven Butler, assistant headteacher Rani Tiwana and Scholastic book club product manager Su Inglis.

The Lollies digital hub can be found at
www.scholastic.co.uk/lollies.