The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2018 shortlist

The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards is a celebration of the very best and funniest books for children, voted for by children themselves!

We’re very excited to announce the Lollies shortlist! Our judges had a tough time choosing just four books per category, so we hope you are excited to read the shortlisted books and vote for your favourites.

Picture Books

I Can Only Draw Worms by Will Mabbitt

This book is about worms. You MIGHT think that worms are boring… but you’d be WRONG. These worms have incredible adventures! Will can’t draw those, though, so you’ll have to imagine them.

I Can Only Draw Worms is the unconventional counting book that you didn’t know you needed, and certainly would never have expected. Children (and adults!) have been known to snort out loud, get a stitch that lasts for hours and laugh so much their faces ache upon getting to the final page – this is definitely one to read again, and again, and again!

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Mr Bunny’s Chocolate Factory by Elys Dolan

As the owner of a large Chocolate Factory, Mr Bunny is never satisfied with his success. When Mr Bunny begins to expect too much of his staff at the Chocolate Factory, he is left to run it alone. Will Mr Bunny realise that many minds are better than one when trying to get a big job done well? Or will his chocolate empire melt under the pressure of running it alone?

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Oi Cat! by Kes Gray and Jim Field

The laughter never ends with Oi Frog and friends …

Don’t miss this hilarious follow-up to Oi Frog! and Oi Dog! from the award-winning Kes Gray and Jim Field. A brilliant rhyming read-aloud text, jam-packed with animals and silliness – perfect for children and parents alike.

According to Frog … Cats sit on gnats, Dogs sit on logs, Raccoons sit on macaroons, Armadillos sit on pillows and Chicks sit on bricks.

But wait! Cat doesn’t like sitting on gnats, they keep biting his bottom! Will Frog and Dog help him change the rules?

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The Squirrels Who Squabbled by Rachel Bright and Jim Field

Two greedy squirrels learn to share in the third hilarious rhyming adventure from the bestselling creators of The Lion Inside.

Greedy squirrels Cyril and Bruce both have their sights on a very special prize: the very last nut of the season! As the nut bounces crazily though the forest, the squirrels race after it, between the trees, over boulders, down the river and – ARGH! – right to the edge of a waterfall! Working together might be the only way to save themselves now …

A laugh-out-loud tale about friendship and sharing from the bestselling creators of The Lion Inside and The Koala Who Could. Perfect for competitive friends and sibling rivals!

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Books for 6-8-year-olds

Barry Loser and the Birthday Billions by Jim Smith

It’s Barry’s birthday and his mum and dad have bought him the amazekeel new gaming helmet he wanted – The Shnozinator 9000! It’s the best birthday present ever…until his baby brother breaks it and ruins everything.

But Barry has a plan: he’ll just have to become a billionaire inventor and make enough money to buy another one, before his life is comperleeterly over…

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Lyttle Lies: The Pudding Problem by Joe Berger

To Sam Lyttle, the truth is like an elephant. It’s heavy, worrying and wrinkly. And when it’s sitting in your way, you can’t go under it or over it. But you CAN skirt round it… So Sam does, every now and then, tell the odd porky-pie, much to the annoyance of his family. But is there more to Sam’s occasional streeeetching of the truth than meets the eye?

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The Big, Fat, Totally Bonkers Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp

Hurray! Pig is back to makes you chuckle and let off some lovely stinky farts. (Tee hee hee.) But listen! He is warning you: his new diary is big-time bonkers! You might not believe what you reads. Or mights you? Well, if Pig was reading it himself, he would be like, “Don’t be silly! Stuff like this would never happen to a pig! It’s totally impossible.” But it’s not. Just ask Duck or Cow, or Ki-Ki or Rusty. Yup: they all agrees. It’s one thousand percent true – and ten thousand percent bonkers!

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There’s a Werewolf in My Tent! by Pamela Butchart and Thomas Flintham

HOWL with laughter as the school camping trip takes a HAIRY turn!

Izzy and her friends are SO EXCITED about their school trip. They’re going camping and there’ll be marshmallows and no washing and everything. But then WEIRD things start happening! There’s howling sounds at night, and lots of scratching, and all under a full moon… But it’s when they see their new teacher’s hairy legs that they KNOW! There’s a werewolf on the school trip and they’re all DOOMED!

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Books for 9-13-year-olds

Football School Season 2: Where Football Saves the World by Alex Bellos, Ben Lyttleton and Spike Gerrell

This book is packed with awesome true stories, real science and fascinating facts and will make you laugh loads – and it’s all about football. What is a vomitory? When do footballers wee? Where do goalkeepers let in chickens? When did women start playing football? You’ll find the answers to these questions and more in chapters on subjects such as biology, maths and history. Illustrated throughout with hilarious cartoons and filled with laugh-out-loud gags this is the perfect book for any boy or girl who loves football.

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My Mum’s Growing Down by Laura Dockrill and David Tazzyman

My Mum is Growing Down is a larger than life collection of poems for a middle grade audience about one wild, hysterical and hilarious Mum.

She says ‘I’ve worked so hard for years and I deserve a rest!’ As she scribbles with crayons and pours custard down her dress, She’s dangling from the banister with her head upside-down!
Does your Mum do this?
Help! My Mum’s growing DOWN!

Mum is a gamer, a party animal and a free spirit making life hard work for her nine-year-old son. These poems are a glimpse into their parent child relationship; their antics and adventures. The poems are bold, brave, funny and some – very moving. This collection shows just how funny, rude and naughty mums can be! It’s Dahl meets Dr Seuss meets Colin McNaughton with a sprinkling of Absolutely Fabulous.

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Tom Gates: Epic Adventure (Kind Of) by Liz Pichon

Family frolics with Tom the master doodler! Families can be super-annoying. (Think grumpy sister Delia.) But sometimes families can also be super AMAZING! For example, right now having two sets of grandparents is working out pretty nice for Tom. The Wrinklies are really keen on giving presents. Plus, they’re planning a truly EPIC family outing! (OK: Delia’s coming too, but Tom can always ignore her.) So don’t get left behind. Join Tom and his family on a super-funny journey to laughter!

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Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure by A. L. Kennedy and Gemma Correll

Badger Bill needs rescuing. He’s been kidnapped by two nasty sisters who are about to make him fight a boxing match against three even nastier dogs.The four most depressed llamas in the history of llamas need rescuing too. They are about to be turned into llama pies.But never fear – Uncle Shawn is here! He loves rescuing things. He has a rescuing plan, which involves dancing, and a mole, and an electric fence. What could possibly go wrong?

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