13 Funny Read Alouds
I think most teachers would agree that read aloud time is a magical time. Books that are read aloud can be used to work on listening comprehension, engage reluctant or struggling readers, facilitate discussion about sensitive and/or important topics, introduce new content, and to promote a love of reading. This post will focus on one of my favorite types of read alouds...funny (silly) picture books.
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Often times read alouds are purposeful. We're told to choose books with intent and that serve a purpose tied to the curriculum. I definitely do this. Often. BUT, sometimes, I just read with the purpose of sharing a fun book. A story that is read and simply enjoyed. It isn't discussed in detail, I don't model any thinking as I read, I simply read and we all enjoy a great book. So, what's the purpose? To promote a love of reading. And, if you ask me, that counts as a purposeful read aloud.
What follows is a list of some of my favorite silly read alouds. I say some because I'm pretty sure I've left some titles off the list. So, don't be surprised if a part 2 to this blog post gets published soon. ;)
Again, these are books that I typically share with no other purpose than to promote a love of books, but it's OK if you use them to talk about other things, or to practice important comprehension skills, because many of them can be used to do just that!
The Serious Goose is about, you guess it, a goose that is very serious. The reader is challenged to change the goose's mood, even though it's pretty unlikely that would ever happen. Turns out, perseverance pays off and by the end, the reader has succeeded and turned the serious goose into a silly goose (spoiler alert-the goose sports his undies in the end).
The Book With No Pictures always makes kids laugh. A lot. There are no pictures, obviously, but the reader has to read everything printed on each page. The things the reader has to read out loud are hilariously odd. Kids will laugh out loud. Guaranteed.
Moo Moo in a Tutu is about a cow that wants to be a ballerina. Moo Moo is pretty ambitious and willing to do whatever idea comes to mind, but her friend, Mr. Quackers is always more realistic about things. This story could be used to talk about friendship, but honestly, it works on it's own as a fun and silly book because of the interactions between the characters and the silly things that Moo Moo does.
Be sure to check out What's Cooking Moo Moo? as well. More silliness from Moo Moo as she and Mr. Quackers decide to open a fancy restaurant.
Llama Destroys the World is a whirlwind of craziness. Llama basically creates a giant black hole that destroys the world when he eats too much cake and has to squeeze into his pants. Crazy story line? Indeed. And your students will laugh and laugh as you read it to them.
I Will Chomp You! is great because it not only features a monster, but it's also centered around cake! I mean, c'mon. The monster in this story threatens the reader not to go any further in the book. This is so he can protect his cakes. He doesn't want to share them. There is room for discussion about greed and sharing with this book, but it's also a super silly story line that's worth just enjoying.
Frog on a Log? is full of rhyming text. As in, every page has a rhyme, so I felt it necessary to point this out from the get go in case you wanted to use it to practice recognizing words that rhyme. Rhyming aside, the frog in this story does not want to sit on a log, so he sets out to find new place to rest. Only, he finds out, with the help of a cat, that every animal's special resting spot rhymes with their animal name. The illustrations and text are both humorous and enjoyable.
Don't forget to check out the follow up book Dog on a Frog? Frog is at it again. He does not want to sit on that log. So he decides to give all the animals a new resting spot. Don't worry they rhyme with the animals' names, but they are definitely ridiculous places for animals to sit.
I Yam a Donkey! is a wacky story. Yam is all about proper grammar and pronunciation, which makes for some silly interactions between Yam and Donkey. Yam gets quite worked up when he isn't able to get through to Donkey who keeps misusing words. It's reminiscent of the Who's on First bit.
You Loves Ewe! is a follow up book to I Yam a Donkey! and it's just as wacky. Donkey just doesn't get it and Yam has to do a lot of explaining. This book could be used to talk about homonyms (homophones), for sure. I mean, it literally explains homonyms in the book. So maybe you'd save it as a fun read aloud when you're learning about these sorts of words. Or, it could be a funny read aloud for any time.
Mo's Pigeon books must be included on any list of silly books. I don't think much else needs to be said here. There are lots of titles in this series these days, so I won't link all of them here. But, if you use the link in the first sentence, you can explore other titles from there.
Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great is a clever story about friendship, uniqueness, and envy. Goat compares himself to Unicorn, who appears to think he's pretty great and seems to always be showing off his skills. Despite the significant content here, it's filled with funny scenarios and illustrations. It's enjoyable to read and kids love hearing it read to them. It might be hard to ignore the content with this one though. Friendship, uniqueness, and envy may be too important to skip over entirely.
Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea is basically a beginner level graphic novel, but I haven't let that stop me from reading it to my students. I'm a big supporter of graphic novels, but they aren't always the easiest to read aloud. Thankfully, Narwhal is a pretty easy one to read aloud.
There are a few books in the series and they are all laugh out loud funny. Narwhal is the happy-go-lucky type. Whereas his loyal friend Jelly is very grounded. Their interactions are just plain funny. They love waffles (I mean sea creatures eating waffles? C'mon!) and adventures. If you don't read these to your students, at least add them to your library. Your students will thank you.
Well, there you have it. A list of some of my favorite silly read alouds. As mentioned before, don't be surprised if a part 2 comes out because I'm pretty sure I left a few books off the list.
Share your favorite silly read aloud in the comments.
DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT!
This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link.
Often times read alouds are purposeful. We're told to choose books with intent and that serve a purpose tied to the curriculum. I definitely do this. Often. BUT, sometimes, I just read with the purpose of sharing a fun book. A story that is read and simply enjoyed. It isn't discussed in detail, I don't model any thinking as I read, I simply read and we all enjoy a great book. So, what's the purpose? To promote a love of reading. And, if you ask me, that counts as a purposeful read aloud.
What follows is a list of some of my favorite silly read alouds. I say some because I'm pretty sure I've left some titles off the list. So, don't be surprised if a part 2 to this blog post gets published soon. ;)
Again, these are books that I typically share with no other purpose than to promote a love of books, but it's OK if you use them to talk about other things, or to practice important comprehension skills, because many of them can be used to do just that!
The Serious Goose is about, you guess it, a goose that is very serious. The reader is challenged to change the goose's mood, even though it's pretty unlikely that would ever happen. Turns out, perseverance pays off and by the end, the reader has succeeded and turned the serious goose into a silly goose (spoiler alert-the goose sports his undies in the end).
The Book With No Pictures always makes kids laugh. A lot. There are no pictures, obviously, but the reader has to read everything printed on each page. The things the reader has to read out loud are hilariously odd. Kids will laugh out loud. Guaranteed.
Moo Moo in a Tutu is about a cow that wants to be a ballerina. Moo Moo is pretty ambitious and willing to do whatever idea comes to mind, but her friend, Mr. Quackers is always more realistic about things. This story could be used to talk about friendship, but honestly, it works on it's own as a fun and silly book because of the interactions between the characters and the silly things that Moo Moo does.
Be sure to check out What's Cooking Moo Moo? as well. More silliness from Moo Moo as she and Mr. Quackers decide to open a fancy restaurant.
Llama Destroys the World is a whirlwind of craziness. Llama basically creates a giant black hole that destroys the world when he eats too much cake and has to squeeze into his pants. Crazy story line? Indeed. And your students will laugh and laugh as you read it to them.
I Will Chomp You! is great because it not only features a monster, but it's also centered around cake! I mean, c'mon. The monster in this story threatens the reader not to go any further in the book. This is so he can protect his cakes. He doesn't want to share them. There is room for discussion about greed and sharing with this book, but it's also a super silly story line that's worth just enjoying.
Frog on a Log? is full of rhyming text. As in, every page has a rhyme, so I felt it necessary to point this out from the get go in case you wanted to use it to practice recognizing words that rhyme. Rhyming aside, the frog in this story does not want to sit on a log, so he sets out to find new place to rest. Only, he finds out, with the help of a cat, that every animal's special resting spot rhymes with their animal name. The illustrations and text are both humorous and enjoyable.
Don't forget to check out the follow up book Dog on a Frog? Frog is at it again. He does not want to sit on that log. So he decides to give all the animals a new resting spot. Don't worry they rhyme with the animals' names, but they are definitely ridiculous places for animals to sit.
I Yam a Donkey! is a wacky story. Yam is all about proper grammar and pronunciation, which makes for some silly interactions between Yam and Donkey. Yam gets quite worked up when he isn't able to get through to Donkey who keeps misusing words. It's reminiscent of the Who's on First bit.
You Loves Ewe! is a follow up book to I Yam a Donkey! and it's just as wacky. Donkey just doesn't get it and Yam has to do a lot of explaining. This book could be used to talk about homonyms (homophones), for sure. I mean, it literally explains homonyms in the book. So maybe you'd save it as a fun read aloud when you're learning about these sorts of words. Or, it could be a funny read aloud for any time.
Mo's Pigeon books must be included on any list of silly books. I don't think much else needs to be said here. There are lots of titles in this series these days, so I won't link all of them here. But, if you use the link in the first sentence, you can explore other titles from there.
Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea is basically a beginner level graphic novel, but I haven't let that stop me from reading it to my students. I'm a big supporter of graphic novels, but they aren't always the easiest to read aloud. Thankfully, Narwhal is a pretty easy one to read aloud.
There are a few books in the series and they are all laugh out loud funny. Narwhal is the happy-go-lucky type. Whereas his loyal friend Jelly is very grounded. Their interactions are just plain funny. They love waffles (I mean sea creatures eating waffles? C'mon!) and adventures. If you don't read these to your students, at least add them to your library. Your students will thank you.
Well, there you have it. A list of some of my favorite silly read alouds. As mentioned before, don't be surprised if a part 2 comes out because I'm pretty sure I left a few books off the list.
Share your favorite silly read aloud in the comments.
DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT!
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