It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation?
Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age,
reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant)
information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good
suggestions are in the comments.
There is a clear subsection of you for whom this will, as they say, resonate. Because the truth is, some people just love funny. Last year on Thanksgiving when we went around the table saying what we were thankful for, Diana said "Comedy!" Read on:
My 9 yr old son read his first book independently yesterday, Captain
Underpants #3. It was lovely to see him in bed with the flashlight
resting on his shoulder, reading away, just as he has seen me do every
day of his life. He was pretty pleased with himself getting to chapter 9
the first night and then finishing it the 2nd night. His only complaint
was that his hands got tired holding the book!Prior to this almost all of his reading has been online, so as a
book-o-holic, it has rather warmed my heart to see him enjoying an
actual so much – carrying it around, telling his friends he is reading
it, and showing me his favorite bits.But while we have lots of books piled all over just waiting for the
right moment, he has told me he is only interested in reading really
funny books and I am struggling a bit to think of more titles. With me
doing the reading he has enjoyed diverse stories like The Moffats, Mrs
Pepperpot, Ronia The Robber's Daughter, Winnie The Pooh, Artemis Fowl,
etc, but for himself he is asking for serious humor only.I have The Giggler Treatment, that's a direction I think he might like
to go. And I will look into Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He also loves physical
humor like the "Make Them Laugh" scene from Singing in the Rain. He likes silly, funny, and of course, the more references to
nether regions the better for this 9 yr old!We have Calvin and Hobbs, but from his obvious delight in finishing 9
chapters in one go, I am thinking he is wanting chapter books just now.
OK: the real sense of a kid behind this one just kills me. Of COURSE he wants something funny! But what shall we do? I mean, there are a whole lot of books that speak to just this type of person, a few of which have found their way to our bookshelves. Diary of a Wimpy Kid? YES. We also have Just Annoying, and who can forget, The Day My Butt Went Psycho? I mean, soon enough this young gentleman will be watching Monty Python on Netflix (if we're any guide), but what book to recommend?
You'll see, of course, that I had no choice but to go straight to Diana. Her pick? This.
I asked her if she was sure it was funny. And? She's sure.
But one is not enough! I ask you, picture this kid with the tired hands gleefully reading Captain Underpants, and see that you have a noble calling to fulfill! Find some funny, Captain-Underpants-like books for this guy, and put them in the comments!
marcialerner.com 
Judy Blume’s Superfudge books are very funny, and he’s about the right age for them. I also think the Clementine and Ramona books are hilarious, but it might be harder to get a boy to read them. My seven year old stepson has just started paging through chapter books. He’s not quite ready to take off yet, but Ramona is catching his interest.
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There’s a fabulous British series called “Horrid Henry” that my Son Who Hates to Read actually read. It’s hilarious, albeit Henry’s influence has horrid potential!
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Sideways Stories from Wayside School!
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I’m going with the How To Train Your Dragon series. I haven’t read it but my daughter loved the whole series and was curled up on the couch giggling the whole time. She also loved the first Captain Underpants, loves that silly scene from Singin in the Rain and Calvin and Hobbes. I’ll be watching this thread for more!
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I just discovered a book called “Dr. Proctor’s Fart Powder” by Jo Nesbo. My 9-year old son pronounced it hilarious. (and it’s the start of a series)
I also agree with the Fudge books recommendation, as well as the How to Train Your Dragon series.
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When we were 10 years old there was a huge waiting list at the library for the Adrian Mole books– “Diary of Adrian Mole” and whatever came after. Now that I’m thinking of them I think they might be a little old, and maybe confusing if your child is unacquainted with British culture. But maybe for a few years from now. My whole 5th grade class loved them. But I’d vet them yourself first.
Also I second Calvin and Hobbes.
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By “a little old” I meant to say “for slightly older kids,” but they’re also like from 1984 so either reading works.
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I am going to go out on a limb here and veer off the chapter book path. I would hand him Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. Oh, to read that for the first time again…bliss.
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Might Roald Dahl books work?
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I’m going to second the Judy Blume suggestion and add that The Brain and the Great One series by Blume is outstanding. These days, my son can be found laughing hard at Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books–not the one on the Farm, but the other ones where she uses her magic and the kids end up doing ridiculous things.
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If he hasn’t already read the rest of the Moffat series, I’d suggest heading right for Rufus M. – that book had the entire family rolling around the floor/bed laughing for far too many bedtimes. My now 8 year old has revisited it on her own, again and again.
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Mrs Piggle Wiggle is laugh out loud funny ( I wish Betty MacDonald’s adult books like “The Egg and I” were out on audiobook – they would be perfect for my family to listen to in the car.) My (now 15 year old) son is a huge comedy fan – he was something of a lateish reluctant reader and when he was 9, he liked The Time Warp Trio. Some of Eva Ibbotson’s books are very funny esp. The Secret of Platform 13 and The Haunting of Granite Falls.
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He might like The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger– it’s not as over-the-top as the good Captain but it is really funny, and there are 2 sequels.
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‘The 13 Storey Tree House’ and the sequel ‘the 26 Storey Tree House’ (both by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton) are definitely books he could read 9 chapters in one night. Quick, fun and incorporating comics.
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The Danny Dragonbreath series (there are 7 so far, #8 is released at the end of this month) is quite funny. Danny, a jr. high dragon pals around with his reptilian friends and solves mysteries of the mythical sort. Our son, age 8, enjoys the humor and the illustrations often are of the comic variety, which tell the story in sections (though it still has plenty of text to count as a chapter book).
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The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung Fu Cavemen From the Future by Dav Pilkey.
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My family listened to the Richard Peck novels about Grandma Dowdel and couldn’t stop laughing: A Long Way from Chicago, A Year Down Yonder, and A Season of Gifts. Also, Christopher Paul Curtis’s Bud Not Buddy. These books might be better as audiobooks. They come alive with actors doing the accents, and their historical settings make them not quite in the Captain Underpants league. But they are hands-down funny.
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This just in! My sister listened to this:
http://www.wgbh.org/News/Articles/2013/1/15/Hold_On_To_Your_Tighty_Whities_Captain_Underpants_Is_Back.cfm
And thought it was interesting, and wondered how it would play with Captain Underpants’ audience itself.
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