Tickling Funny Bones: 14 Tips for Crafting Humor in Children’s Books
From facial expressions to word choice, here are 14 tips for crafting humor in children’s books.
Do you want to make kids laugh? This list draws from the 28 children’s books I’ve written, which have tested these ideas on over a million real kids and parents. That said, you be the judge: Humor is one of those elusive things like farts or fine wine: Its provenance can be a touch mysterious.
What is humor? In my view, it’s just a way of communicating (other ways include dictation, criticism, and bloviating). According to The Mosaic Project, a youth organization that teaches kids effective communication, all communication breaks down to three things: your body language, what you say, and how you say it.
In children’s books, this triumvirate works in both words and pictures, and is supported by a funny story. So, if you want to make kids laugh, make sure you’re using all the tools.
Body language:
1. Facial expressions. Whether it’s the epic feeling of despair, a conniving look of mischief, begging Bambi eyes, or a suspicious side eye, hilarious facial expressions are key. Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, is the undisputed master, so study him closely.
2. Body expressions. The body says just as much as the face, through slumped shoulders, hanging upside down off a chair with all-consuming boredom, or funky dance moves. In the Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella, best frenemies Astrid and Stella use their bodies in all these ways and more to humorously communicate how they’re feeling.
What you say:
3. Creative contrasts. One of our readers’ favorite lines is from Bananas for You!: “I love you more than undies love butts!” This makes kids laugh for a few reasons. First, it’s surprising. We often hear love compared to sweet things like candy or the moon (and back), but butts? Speaking of butts, this phrase anthropomorphizes both rumps and underwear, asking the reader to imagine: “What if undies and butts could talk?” (well, butts do talk, sort of . . .) Finally, it brings in hyperbole and a funny metaphor—the conceit that undies really, really do love butts, which makes surprising logical sense, because without them they’d have no reason to exist—no ifs, ands, or butts! (See what I did there? I threw in a pun for good measure!).
4. Kid logic. Kids have their own logic and universal feelings that are wholly relatable to other kids but make no sense to adults. For example, in The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella, Stella dramatically declares “I hate naps!”—which is funny because what kid has not experienced that feeling before? In My Dad is Amazing!, the narrator declares: “My dad is smarter than a super smartypants!” This is funny because “super smartypants” is both fun to say (alliterative, and uses the word “pants” which is just inherently amusing) and captures how kids think about intelligence, which has nothing to do with the adult world of IQ tests, education, or advanced degrees.
How you say it:
5. Word play. All kids love a good play on words, whether it be a pun, a joke, alliteration, an onomatopoeia, or a funny metaphor. For example, in The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella, Stella, a flying squirrel, exhorts: “No, no, no with a double topping of NO!” describing a familiar feeling with a highly relatable ice cream metaphor that makes kids laugh out loud. Many of our books, including Sloth and Smell the Roses and Super Pooper and Whizz Kid: Potty Power!, have funny, punny titles, which signals right away to the reader that they’re in for a treat.
6. Word choice. Some words are just innately funny to say, like “bananas,” “squirm,” or “toot.” Since children’s books are meant to be read aloud, picking words that are delightful to speak out loud is a great way to entertain. Bonus points if the funny words also rhyme.
7. Hyperbole. Several of our books are built around hyberbole, including My Mom is Magical!, My Dad is Amazing!, and You are Fantastic! Kids are small, so it’s both empowering and fun to talk about huge, enormous things, especially comparisons like “a ton of puppies!” or “a pile of pancakes!”
8. Visual puns. A visual pun can augment a verbal pun or be a joke unto itself. For example, in The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella, Bobo the robot delivers a straight-faced robotic aside that “Someone’s in a fowl mood,” while holding up a rubber chicken (deadpan humor is sometimes the best, because it sets up the contrast between funny/not funny). In Sloth and Smell the Roses, the reader is invited to “feel their anger boil and steam,” which is illustrated by a hugely enraged but physically tiny teapot (many kids can relate!).
Finally, the following elements can add to humor:
9. Situation. Everyone’s familiar with TV “sit-coms” which draw humor from funny, relatable situations. In Thanks a Ton!, we set up a fundamentally humorous situation: A little elephant is SO grateful that words just aren’t enough, so it tries to thank the reader with a growing pile of grateful STUFF—including a hilarious assortment of totally random things like a crocodile, a St. Bernard, a “holy moly cow,” and even a kitchen sink!
10. Crossing boundaries. Have you noticed that humans laugh when they’re nervous? Laughter releases anxiety, especially fear of social isolation incurred by breaking rules. Kids are natural boundary-testers so they LOVE laughing about things that make grown-ups mad or squirm, but that are normal and natural, like farts. In Goodnight Baboon!, a cheeky baby baboon repeatedly goes AWOL at bedtime, streaking, playing the electric guitar, snorkeling in the tub (while farting underwater), and using his toothbrush as a microphone. This is funny because it tests real-life boundaries in a situation that makes a lot of parents exhausted and furious. However all’s well that ends well: The baby baboon falls asleep and he and his caregiver exchange one big hug—and everyone gets to laugh along with the baby baboon and their caregiver at the ridiculous futility of bedtime power-struggles.
11. Engaging the reader. Bringing the reader in on the joke is a great way get a giggle. For example, at the end of ABC Dance! after a parade of animals dance through the alphabet in witty rhyming couplets, the reader is spontaneously invited to join the fun: “Hey, is that YOUR toe tapping? Well c’mon, strut your stuff!”
There are three more things that I want to underscore about making kids laugh out loud:
12. Respect the reader. Have you ever had an author, teacher, or person of any description talk down to you or tell you what to do? Not funny, right? Nope. Moving on...
13. Respect yourself. Great humor requires confidence. Laugh at yourself in a kind-hearted way, and the reader will laugh with you.
14. Have a heart. There's a huge difference between laughing WITH and laughing AT, especially with sensitive, earnest, and vulnerable kids (and adults). Laughing WITH characters empowers them, because humor helps us gain control of an awkward situation. Laughing AT a character takes power away. So, rather than showing a banana peel landing on a child’s head (laughing AT), show them slipping on a banana peel, striking a funny pose in mid-air, and landing on their feet (laughing WITH).
Ultimately, great humor is empowering. It helps us make sense of the world, and find relief from our very human anxiety over the absurdity of our existence. Kids and parents need this more than ever in a world that often feels big, scary, and out of control.
As a children’s book author, you have the power and privilege to provide a little humorous release (just like a fart!) and comfort to readers. As the narrator sagely opines in our book Hang in There!: “where there is humor, there is hope!”
Sabrina Moyle, along with her sister Eunice, is the founder of Hello!Lucky, an award-winning design studio working with dozens of partners to create products, including the bestselling children’s books My Mom Is Magical!, My Dad Is Amazing!, Super Pooper and Whizz Kid, and Kindness Rules! Hello!Lucky is based in San Francisco. For more info, visit hellolucky.com.
