Little Kids, Big Emotions: Silly
While all of my other book lists in this series – happy, sad, mad, shy, enthusiasm, and frustrated are very much about characters who feel a very specific way and what they do about those feelings, this book list is a little different in that it’s focused more on silly storylines and laughing out loud, than the act of silly. I pulled some of my favorite silly picture books for this list and I’m excited to share them. Whether your little one is in a silly mood or if you’re looking for ways to make reading aloud a little more fun and engaging, this is definitely the list for you!
Equating books and reading to having fun and enjoying yourself is part of building strong readers. And I think kids (and caregivers) who giggle their way through a book together is a great way to create that fun environment. So, while this list is a bit of departure from they others in this series, I think it’s still an important feeling for kids and while being silly can’t be the only thing a child focuses on, finding joy and silliness in a sometimes very serious world is a gift that is just as important!
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Little Kids, Big Emotions: Silly
The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak
You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except . . . here’s how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say . . .
BLORK. Or BLUURF.
Even if the words are a preposterous song about eating ants for breakfast, or just a list of astonishingly goofy sounds like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY and GLIBBITY GLOBBITY.
Chez Bob by Bob Shea
Welcome to Chez Bob, which seems like a real restaurant…until you realize…it’s on an alligator’s NOSE! Bob’s got a hidden plan for his customers: “Birds will come to eat, but I will eat the birds!” As they fly in from all over the world to dine on Bob’s face, something starts to happen that takes the lazy, hungry reptile by surprise—the birds stay. “More yummy birds!” he rejoices—he’ll want for nothing! But when the time is right, will Bob make the right choice?
A Couch for Llama by Leah Gilbert
The Lago family really loves their couch. It’s perfect for reading, snuggling, playing, and jumping. But all good things must come to an end, and, one day, the family realizes the time has come to replace it. As they drive home with their brand-new bright-red couch, though, it gets knocked off the top of their car into a field . . . where a llama tries to make sense of this new thing. At first confused—It doesn’t talk! It doesn’t taste good! It doesn’t budge!—the llama soon realizes how comfy the couch is and settles right in. Can the family get its furniture back—and keep llama happy, too?
Don’t Blink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by David Roberts
Here’s how it works: if you can avoid getting to the end of this book, you can avoid bedtime, simple as that. (It’s a pretty sweet deal, actually.) But each time you blink, you have to turn a page. Those are just the rules. So whatever you do, DON’T BLINK!
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
It’s time for the little red chicken’s bedtime story — and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But the chicken can’t help herself! Whether the tale is Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood or even Chicken Little, she jumps into the story to save its hapless characters. Now it’s the little red chicken’s turn to tell a story, but will her yawning papa make it to the end without his own kind of interrupting?
Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney
Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast have a beautiful friendship—until they discover that there’s only one drop of maple syrup left! The race is ON! Off they go, racing past the Orange Juice Fountain, skiing through Sauerkraut Peak, and reeling down the linguini.
But who will enjoy the sweet taste of victory? And could working together be better than tearing each other apart?
My Pillow Keeps Moving! by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Christopher Weyant
Dogs make good pillows, don’t they?
A clever pup ends up in a cozy home, and she’ll do anything to stay there. She impersonates everything the lonely homeowner needs–a pillow, a footstool, a jacket. But in the end, being herself works best. Laura Gehl’s spare, humorous text and New Yorker cartoonist Christopher Weyant’s expressive characters will leave young readers giggling and begging for more.
My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee
If you should ever get a rhinoceros for a pet, you’re in for a surprise. It won’t chase a ball. Or a stick. Or a frisbie. In fact, according to the experts, a rhinoceros does only two things: pop balloons and poke holes in kites.
But don’t be discouraged. As you’ll discover in Jon Agee’s hilarious picture book, rhinoceroses can do more–so much more–than that!
The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton
Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year. A BIG horse. A STRONG horse. A horse fit for a WARRIOR PRINCESS! But when the day arrives, she doesn’t quite get the horse of her dreams… From the artist behind the comic phenomenon Hark! A Vagrant, The Princess and the Pony a laugh-out-loud story of brave warriors, big surprises, and falling in love with one unforgettable little pony.
The Serious Goose by Jimmy Kimmel
Written, illustrated, and lettered by Jimmy Kimmel, this picture book challenges young readers to bring the silly out of a very Serious Goose. Inspired by Jimmy’s nickname for his kids, The Serious Goose reminds us to be silly in a serious way. Put your little comedians in front of a mylar mirror and challenge them to make this no-nonsense goose smile. This delightful read-aloud is guaranteed to create gaggles of giggles time and time again!
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
When Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, he’s determined to get it out. But how? Well, by knocking it down with his shoe, of course. But strangely enough, it too gets stuck. And the only logical course of action . . . is to throw his other shoe. Only now it’s stuck! Surely there must be something he can use to get his kite unstuck. An orangutan? A boat? His front door? Yes, yes, and yes. And that’s only the beginning.
There’s a Giraffe in My Soup by Russ Burach
What if you found a giraffe in your soup, an alligator in your entreé, an elephant on the table, or even an ostrich in your dish?
