Advertisement
Books

Top 5 funny books for kids, chosen by Anthony Horowitz

The author of the Diamond Brothers and Alex Rider series selects five hilarious books for children.

Master of the mystery novel Anthony Horowitz selects his top five books to make children laugh.

1. Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

I read this series with my children a long time ago but the laughter still echoes down the years. The bizarre story of a family of skeletons living together in a suburban house was irresistible… night after night. “Let’s go out and frighten somebody!”

2. The Donut Diaries by Anthony McGowan

Twelve-year-old Dermot Milligan is overweight. In the first book he faces the twin horrors of a psychiatrist ordering him to keep a diary of his eating habits – “everyone knows diaries are for girls” – and a visit to Camp Fatso. Funny and strangely insightful.

3. The Twits by Roald Dahl

Advertisement
Advertisement

For me the funniest Dahl. Mr and Mrs Twit are unforgettable creations: ugly, unhygienic and given to playing ferociously cruel tricks on each other. How could anyone grow a beard after reading the first chapter?

4. Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Boyce’s work is laugh-out-loud funny, but always grounded in reality. Framed is set during a financial recession and based on a true story – museum treasures concealed in a slate mine. I loved it because of what it said about the transformative power of art. 

Where Seagulls Dare by Anthony Horowitz is out now (Walker Books, £7.99)

5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Still a landmark in comic writing. Need I describe the plot which begins when Arthur Dent survives the destruction of the Earth, knocked down by the Vogons to make way for a new bypass? The answer to that – and all other questions – is, of course, 42.

Where Seagulls Dare by Anthony Horowitz is out now (Walker Books, £7.99). You can buy it from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine. If you cannot reach your local vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member.You can also purchase one-off issues from The Big Issue Shop or The Big Issue app, available now from the App Store or Google Play.

Advertisement

Learn more about our impact

When most people think about the Big Issue, they think of vendors selling the Big Issue magazines on the streets – and we are immensely proud of this. In 2022 alone, we worked with 10% more vendors and these vendors earned £3.76 million in collective income. There is much more to the work we do at the Big Issue Group, our mission is to create innovative solutions through enterprise to unlock opportunity for the 14million people in the UK living in poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Goodbye Eastern Europe: Finding the remains of a lost world
History

Goodbye Eastern Europe: Finding the remains of a lost world

Top 5 books about queer teenage romance, chosen by Helen Palmer
LGBT+

Top 5 books about queer teenage romance, chosen by Helen Palmer

Quiet Fires by Andriniki Mattis review: Realities of living as a transgender Black person in America
Poetry

Quiet Fires by Andriniki Mattis review: Realities of living as a transgender Black person in America

A Flat Place by Noreen Masud review: Finding a sense of self in landscapes
nature

A Flat Place by Noreen Masud review: Finding a sense of self in landscapes

Most Popular

Read All
Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023
1.

Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023

Strike dates 2023: From trains to airports to tube lines, here are the dates to know
2.

Strike dates 2023: From trains to airports to tube lines, here are the dates to know

Suranne Jones opens up about her 'relentless and terrifying' experiences of bullying
3.

Suranne Jones opens up about her 'relentless and terrifying' experiences of bullying

Arctic Monkeys team up with Big Issue to produce unique tour programme
4.

Arctic Monkeys team up with Big Issue to produce unique tour programme