When I go browsing for a new book to read, I find that you’re more likely going to find a sad, scary, or dramatic story rather than a funny one. Humor is very difficult to pull off in print. The way we read sentences in our heads varies, and a funny line isn’t going to be spoken or read the same by each reader. Humorous situations too aren’t as revered as dramatic, even though both can make you feel strongly and provide the escapism that we’re looking for when we read.
The best place to find humorous books is in the children’s genres. Picture and chapter books welcome funny kid characters that help teach lessons without bringing down the audience. In fact, they help to promote reading and page turning to their target audience by getting their readers to laugh. Below are some of my favorite funny characters in children’s literature.
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The wild and crazy character
In adult fiction, kids are often regarded as glorified pieces of furniture. They often don’t know what’s going on in the wider plot, they are held back from a lot of the conflict, even if they are victims of it, and they don’t have a lot of personality. In fact, they tend to come off as hurdles or obstacles, another accommodation to be made or another person to worry about in the central conflict.
In children’s literature, where kids take center stage, these kids have to have more of a personality because they carry the story. And it’s not just the main character. Sometimes, the stand out is the side character who is allowed to go off the rails and bring energy and laughs to the story.
The first character who comes to mind who fits this description completely is Farley Drexel Hatcher, or “Fudge,” from Judy Blume’s Fudge series. Fudge is not the main character of any of the five books in this series. Typically, his older brother, Peter, narrates each tale. But Fudge is the main event because of his outspoken and funny attitude and the crazy things he does as a result. It may not be funny to Peter who has to deal with it, but for us readers, he’s a star.
Take Fudge’s first day of school in this quote from Superfudge:
This is the way that kids like Fudge really talk. He is hyperactive with great comebacks for any situation. You spend the book waiting to see what Fudge will do next and how his big mouth will get him into and out of trouble once again.
The airhead character
Kids tend to take things literally, especially as they are still building their vocabulary and view of the world. There are so many colloquialisms that I misinterpreted as a kid and so many explanations that I took out of context.
Still, there are a lot of common sense situations that a kid would know is wrong if they saw somebody taking it too literally. It’s the clown-like humor that makes kids giggle and feel smart for knowing why it’s wrong and what makes it funny.
One of the best characters who exhibits this airhead trait is Amelia Bedelia. The well-intentioned yet walking disaster of a maid for the Rogers family is often given a list of tasks to complete at her employers’ house. However, she often misinterprets them and destroys the house in the process.
This excerpt from Happy Haunting, Ameilia Bedelia is the perfect example of this in which Amelia Bedelia uses a hammer to break the glass of a window rather than slide it open a little:
Even if a kid doesn’t know what it means to “crack a window,” they can guess that it doesn’t mean putting an actual crack in the window glass let alone breaking it. It can be a comfort when they read about someone who is just as confused about the world as they are, especially if that person is an adult who probably should know better. And it’s nice to laugh at the expense of a fictional character rather than someone in real life who might not appreciate being laughed at, though I don’t know if Amelia would know the difference.
Opposites who attract
People generally don’t have a lot of patience for one another. But kids will let you know it when you’re getting on their nerves, whether it’s because you don’t think the same way or you try to tease them about their own particular preferences.
Watching this play out in story form, however, can be fun. Even the closest friends or family members can butt heads over their differences in personalities. But there’s also a comfort in knowing that someone has your back, no matter how quirky or grumpy you are. And there’s a joy in watching two characters bicker while understanding that their bond is strong enough to keep them together.
One of my favorite pairings of two different personality types is Frog and Toad. In Frog and Toad are Friends, there is a chapter where the two go swimming. Toad warns Frog not to look at him while he swims because he looks funny in his bathing suit. Frog goes around warning the other nearby animals not to laugh at Toad, but when they do get a glimpse of him, they can’t help but ignore Toad’s orders.
One thing that’s funny about this scene is that Toad feels the need to put on a bathing suit at all since he’s an amphibian who lives near water. But even funnier is that fact that Frog doesn’t understand Toad’s need for discretion, and, though he tries to help him out, he’s instead just calling attention to Toad and inadvertently inviting others to laugh at him.
Frog’s good intentions backfire, and Toad’s sensitivity is a bit absurd and causes him to miss out on the fun. But we can all laugh at the fact that we’ve been both Frog and Toad in certain situations, and we can identify with and laugh at the relatability that they bring.
The kid with no filter
As adults, we tend to write kid heroes the way we wish them to be: thoughtful listeners who absorb the information around them correctly and are nice and polite and learn a lesson at the end of their story. But in real life, we know that kids are a mix of good and bad traits, just like any adult.
Every experience to a kid is new, and kids tend to handle new experiences in different ways. Some are confident and excited. Others are obviously fearful. And others will tell you exactly how they feel.
Children’s literature is often about how a fictional kid handles a new experience that the reader will likely face soon as well, if they haven’t already. One direction in which to take this is to show how a kid handles things the right way. Another direction is to let the kid do everything wrong. And with that, you’ve got a funny character in a funny book. And even better is when that kid with no filter is steering the ship that is the story.
The first fictional character who springs to mind as a kid with no filter is Junie B. Jones. From the very beginning, Junie lets you know that the B. stands for Beatrice, but she only likes the “B” part of that name. So, that’s the only part she uses. This just goes to show how Junie shapes her worldview and dictates how the world will view her.
Don’t like it? Deal with it.
In Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, we get to see Junie maneuver through her first day of school. She has a lot to say about the school and the bus that takes her there, and that running commentary with her mispronounced words and lack of ability to read the room leads to so many laugh out loud moments throughout the story, such as when she tours the school library and has a lot to say about books and feels the need to let the whole world know.
We all knew kids in school who talked out in class, or maybe we even were those kids. Somehow, we needed everyone to know if we had done something or if we had something that was being referenced in class, and it took some of us longer than others to filter out our thoughts to only the most relevant and interesting anecdotes. Others are still learning this lesson well into adulthood.
The curious character
Curiosity is a huge part of childhood. It’s how we learn and experience new things. Curiosity can be as safe as asking questions to a trusted adult to wandering off by yourself and getting into mischief.
Sometimes you can’t help but do the wrong thing out of curiosity. I used to press so many buttons I wasn’t supposed to, hide in clothes racks, and even try to get on stage during live performances so that I could meet my childhood idols.
The more adventurous bouts of curiosity can lead to you getting in trouble. But when you can live vicariously through another character, it can be a fun and funny experience.
The most obvious example of this type of character is Curious George. This monkey who lives among humans is as inexperienced as any kid roaming the world. His caretaker, The Man in the Yellow Hat, takes him to new places and tries to give him new, safe experiences, but George often can’t help but go off on his own and do some solo exploring,
In Curious George Goes to a Restaurant, George and The Man in the Yellow Hat decided to go out for dinner after a day of hard work.
It’s not so much George who is funny as the villains of these stories who try to capture and punish George for being too curious. It creates a lot of energy and tension, and kids love a good chase. Not only does it thrill you, but it makes you laugh.
The unreliable narrator
One of the things I miss most about childhood is a wild imagination. It’s fun and exciting to pretend that things are not as they seem. And it’s funny when you get to come along for the ride as a kid shapes their real world around their made up one, reliable or not.
One funny character who does this is Karen Brewer from the Baby-sitters Little Sister series. Karen takes her stories so seriously that even she believes them, even if she has to spin the details to make them fit her narrative.
One of Karen’s biggest obsessions is with her next door neighbor, an old woman who Karen suspects of being a witch. And she spends the duration of the first book in her spinoff series trying to prove it.
In one scene, Karen freaks out on her parents after they are given some herbs from their next door neighbor to grow in their garden. Knowing that they won’t believe her, she has to make up an excuse for her behavior.
It’s funny to watch kids squirm and sweat in order to keep their fictionalized realities alive. And the reader can choose to buy into their stories or understand that they are made up and have fun watching the whole conflict play out.
The reflective funny character
I think we sometimes forget that unexperienced doesn’t necessarily mean unwise. Kids can be very smart and very reflective of their environment. Their limited knowledge can still be used to put complex ideas together in ways that adults may not even have thought of. And you can’t help but laugh at how funny the truth can be.
One character whose takes on everyday life I love to hear is little Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin balances sarcasm, wit, and sincerity as masterfully as any adult comedian, yet he still has a child’s point of view of the world and sometimes a confusion about certain situations.
But it’s better for Calvin to know what we knows and how he knows it for as long as he does. Because that innocent point of view doesn’t last, and it will never be as cute and charming as it is when you’re a kid.
Who are your favorite funny characters? Leave your answers in the comments below!
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The girls love all of the books/characters you talk about. They can’t stand Junie B. because they think she’s mean and disrespectful. There’s being outspoken and being rude. She crosses the line. They say she acts like one of the boys in school. I agree and after reading my first book with them, she was on the no list. Great job once again.
Thank you! Yes, Junie B. is a lot. I’d probably hate her if she was in my class, but if you’re not in her line of fire, you can’t help but laugh at how bold she is.