Laugh-Out-Loud Read-Alouds: Funny Books for Parents to Read to Kids

#1 The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless by Allan Woodrow

Zachary may look like a sweet and innocent 10-year-old, but he's actually rather evil. He dreams of joining the Society of Utterly Rotten, Beastly and Loathsome Lawbreaking Scoundrels (SOURBALLS), a vile consortium of super villains. In order to get in, Zachary devises a plan that involves turning Mayor Mudfrogg into a brainwashed zombie under his control.

#2 Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

The Wayside School is unlike any school you may know. Instead of having its 30 classrooms built side by side as intended, the builder stacked each room vertically. Each story in the book concerns the wacky goings-on in one of the classrooms. The dark and goofy humor of the stories includes a mean teacher who turns students into apples, a dead rat disguising itself as a student and a girl who tries, but fails, to sell her toes.

#3 The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse by Bruce Hale

The first book in the Chet Gecko mystery series, The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse features a fourth grade detective searching for a missing chameleon named Billy. The story draws heavily from hard-boiled detective classics and Chet narrates the book like an elementary school version of Sam Spade, full of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. In his own words, 'This one started with a dame. (That's what we private eyes call a girl.)'

#4 Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

This zany adventure story follows Alcatraz Smedry, who receives a bag of sand for his 13th birthday. When a cult of evil librarians steal the sand as part of a plot to take over the world, Alcatraz sets out to stop them. Before he can save the world, though, Alcatraz must figure out how to use his natural klutziness to his advantage.

#5 The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) by Lemony Snicket

The first of a 13-book series, The Bad Beginning introduces the three Baudelaire children, whose misfortunes multiply seemingly without end. The satire is dark but hilarious as Violet, Klaus and Sunny attempt to thwart the menacing Count Olaf. The series is narrated by fictional author Lemony Snicket, who playfully warns readers that that this is an unhappy story at its beginning, throughout its middle and straight on to the end.

#6 Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is also the first book in a series. It stars Greg Heffley, a middle school student keeping a journal, not a diary, despite what the cover of this book says. He wants to improve his popularity, but his parents, siblings and geeky friends keep getting in the way. The silly novel includes hilarious illustrations that complement the story being told.

#7 The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

In this silly chapter book, two fourth graders, Harold and George, use hypnosis to transform their principal into a superhero, Captain Underpants. Things get out of hand when the principal begins pursuing actual criminals in his underwear. The story, which is sure to keep kids laughing, is complemented by action-packed illustrations.

#8 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Milo is bored and doesn't believe there's anything worth doing. Then, curiously, a tollbooth appears in his bedroom. Milo decides to take his toy car, pay the toll and head through the tollbooth. This sets him off on an epic and hilarious journey reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.

#9 Roscoe Riley Rules #1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate

Roscoe is the well-intentioned but mishap-prone first grader narrating this story. As his class prepares for a musical performance dressed as bees, everyone's antennas keep bobbing and his classmates won't stay seated. Roscoe tries to help by using Super-Mega-Gonzo Glue to attach the antennae to the chairs. As expected, laugh-out-loud chaos ensues.

#10 Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi Longstocking is an irreverent girl who lives with her monkey in a thoroughly silly house known as Villa Villekulla. Throughout the book, Pippi goes from one comical adventure to another, causing trouble and delight to those around her. Pippi Longstocking is the type of irrepressible spirit who not only thwarts the burglars trying to rob her house, but ends up dancing with them.