Scholastic's Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2017

Scholastic’s Laugh out Loud Book Awards 2017 are back for the second year running, celebrating the best funny books in children’s literature. This year's shortlist for the awards was announced on the 5th June 2017 with the books falling into three categories :

·        Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book

·        Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6-8s

·        Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13s

There were 4 books chosen for each category, these were selected by judges Michael Rosen, Katie Thistleton and Nicolette Jones. You can see below just which books were chosen:

Picture book shortlist 

Oi, Dog! by Kes Gray/Jim Field

Hodder Children's Books, Hachette

Frog's had enough, he's the changing the status quo! Cat insists that there are rules - only mules sit on

stools, no one but hares should sit on chairs and however irritating, dogs MUST sit on frogs.

Eat Your People by Lou Kuenzler/David Wojtowycz 

Orchard Books, Hachette 

A monstrously funny story of difficult dinnertimes will have children asking for seconds! Monty definitely does NOT want to eat his people. He'll eat his vegetables - every single one! - but he will not eat his people.

Prince of Pants by Alan Macdonald/Sarah McIntyre

Scholastic

It is Prince Pip's birthday, and he can't wait to choose a pair of pants to wear on his special day. But when he goes to his pants drawer, it's empty! Where have all his pants gone? Could it be that the palace has planned a very special, pants-tastic surprise party? A royally funny picture book by an award-winning duo, with glow-in-the dark undies on the final page.

Danny McGee Drinks the Sea by Andy Stanton/Neal Layton

Hodder Children's Books, Hachette

Can a boy drink the sea? Surely it's impossible! But Danny McGee does just that - and now he has his

sights on other things. Soon he's swallowing trees, flies, fleas, peas, mountains ... where will it end?!

6-8 Years Shortlist

Thimble Monkey Superstar by Jon Blake/Martin Chatterton

Firefly Press

Life is never boring now that Jams and his family have a monkey to look after. Jams and his mum love Thimble, but Dad is determined to get rid of him - to a zoo, a school, even a demolition site. But when Jams and his dad are in mortal danger, Thimble proves once and for all why he is a Monkey Superstar! Thimble is very clever and very naughty - and just the best friend Jams has been waiting for.

Hamish and the Neverpeople by Danny Wallace/Jamie Littler

Simon and Schuster

Nobody knows it yet, but the people of Earth are in big, big trouble. Like - HUGE trouble. Oh, come on, where's your imagination? Double what you're thinking! And it's all got to do with a shadowy figure, an enormous tower, some sinister monsters, huge clanking and thundering metal oddballs,  and people who are just like you… but not like you at all. Luckily Hamish and the PDF are around to help save the day! Aren't they??

Eddy Stone and the Epic Holiday Mash-Up by Simon Cherry

Usborne Publishing

When Eddy Stone finds a pirate in his Gran’s bath, his miserable summer holiday turns into a treasure

hunt! Setting sail in a ship-shaped shed, crewed by an old lady and a grumpy penguin, what could possibly stop their quest for booty? (Apart from the world’s most evil shopkeeper, a man-eating beast, and the maddest, baddest villain in all the seven seas.) All aboard for an EPIC adventure...

Future Ratboy and the Invasion of the Nom Noms by Jim Smith

Jelly Pie, Egmont

When a bolt of lightning hit Colin Lamppost he was zapped millions of years into the future andturned into a half boy, half rat, half TV! With new superkeel powers and a real life sidekick in Not Bird, Future Ratboy was born. In this new adventure, can Future Ratboy and Not Bird save Shnozville from the bitey little insects that are turning everyone into zombies? Will they defeat the evil Mr X? And how will they ever find their way home? This laugh-out-loud, unlikely superhero comedy adventure will delight all those that enjoyed Tom Gates, Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants and Jedi Academy.

9-13 Shortlist

I Don't Like Poetry by Joshua Seigal

Bloomsbury Education

With poems on every topic from the power of books to the joys of fried chicken, this collection is packed with Joshua Seigal's subversive humour and insight into the world of children. If you don't like poetry after reading this, there's probably something wrong with you!

The Best Medicine by Christine Hamil

Little Island Books

Philip’s happy-go-lucky life is disrupted when his mother gets breast cancer. Bad enough that your mother is seriously ill – but could she not have developed a less embarrassing kind of cancer – toe cancer, maybe, or ear cancer? Philip’s attempts to cope with his situation are both hilarious and touching. Through it all, he’s writing letters to his hero, the comedian Harry Hill, looking for advice. A hilarious take on life, love, glasses – and medicine.

My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord by David Solomons/Laura Ellen Anderson

Nosy Crow

Luke’s brother, Zack, and friend, Lara, have superpowers. Luke has new school shoes and a burning sense of resentment. He KNOWS that aliens disguised as gym teachers are about to attack Earth but will anyone listen? No. So one dodgy pact with a self-styled supervillain later, and Luke is ready to save the world. He just needs to find his trainers…

AniMalcolm by David Baddiel/Jim Field

HarperCollins

Malcolm doesn’t like animals. Which is a problem because his family love them. Their house is full of pets. What the house is NOT full of is stuff Malcolm likes. Such as the laptop he wanted for his birthday. The only bright spot on the horizon is the Year Six school trip, which Malcolm never thought his parents would pay for. And yet there he is, on the bus, heading to… oh no. A farm. Over the next days, Malcolm changes. He learns a lot about animals. More, in many ways, than he would like. He learns what it’s really like to be an animal. A whole series of animals, in fact… It does make him think differently. And speak differently. And eat differently. And, um, smell differently. But will he end up the same as before? Because sometimes the hardest thing to become is… yourself.

Now my children were asked for their opinions on which book should win each category so without further ado here's what they decided.

Picture book shortlist - Prince of Pants

My youngest daughter who is 4 said she loved that the book glowed in the dark and she thought it was very funny, she even found a picture in there who she kept telling everyone was her sister Gracie which had people laughing a lot!

6- 8 shortlist - Eddy Stone and the Epic Holiday Mash-Up

This was chosen by my 7 year old daughter who had this to say about it :

I really enjoyed reading this book, it is very funny so it should definitely win an award. Eddy in the story has a really good imagination, very creative. I think I like it more because I'm creative too. I've told my sisters to read it too!

9 - 13 shortlist - I Don't Like Poetry

The last choice came from my 9 year old and here are her thoughts on the book : 

I liked the book I don't like poetry because they had different types of poems and good illustrations.I don't have a favourite poem because all were funny and some were even 1 worded poems but I think that there was quite a lot to laugh at especially the picture ok the poo! I had 2 of my sisters laughing at it just like myself. 

My least favourite poem was actually the 1 worded one because there wasn't much to read. I am not really a fan of reading, but this book I was able to sit and read it in two days. I would read this again because this would be one of those books that are interesting no matter how many times you read the words. A poem that got a bit annoying was :Just a book? 

I really enjoyed this book and I'm glad I chose it. I DON'T LIKE POEMS [I do actually they can be very powerful!] Also, I really liked the poem called: Addicted to chicken because you could make the bit that goes like bwark bwark I'm addicted to chicken into a chorus for a child's song it would probably make them laugh or burst into tears and I mean the good tears.

Now it's your turn to cast your vote. Whether you're a teacher, parent or the child reading the books, you can all get involved. And just to make things even better I have a discount code LOLB17 which will get you an extra 10% off of the already fantastically low prices for these books.