18 Funny Bedtime Stories to Make Your Children Laugh
Kids love love silly books, so I’ve made a list of my favorite funny bedtime stories that are a perfect way to end the day. These are the books that always get the children in our library laughing.
Bedtime stories are a time-honored tradition. Children love to hear funny bedtime stories because they appeal to their natural sense of silliness.
This post shares 18 funny bedtimes stories that will make your child laugh. It will also make their bedtime routine run a little smoother!
Do you want to make bedtime more fun for your child? Funny bedtime stories will do the trick.
Children love to hear them because they appeal to their natural sense of silliness. This post shares 18 funny bedtimes stories that will make your child laugh
What are some good bedtime stories?
I’ve made a list of my favorite funny bedtime stories that are a perfect way to end the day.
These are the books that always get the children in our library laughing.
You’ll find some hilarious and silly tales in this list, like “The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig.” Or how about “I need a new Butt?”
These silly, wacky tales are sure to get everyone giggling before they head off into dreamland.
Of course, when it comes to children’s books delivery is key, so don’t hold back.
Ham up the reading with silly voices and sound effects. Then enjoy all those giggles, because laughing with your child over a silly book is a great way to connect.
Looking for more fun ideas to keep kids entertained? Head over to our Kids Activities page where you’ll find hundreds of fun ideas all in one place.
18 Funny Bedtime Stories For Kids
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
Jasper Rabbit loves to eat carrots. He stops by the carrot patch every chance he gets.
But one day the carrots start following him. Soon Jasper starts seeing creepy carrots everywhere.
No one believes Jasper, so he takes matters into his own hands. Children love the absurd creepiness of the carrots and the twist at the end when you discover how sneaky the carrots are.
Chickens to The Rescue by John Himmelman
What happens when chickens try to help out around the farm? Giggle galore, that’s what.
The antics of the chickens are very entertaining and this book gets funnier with every page.
Further laughs can be had with the Cows, Pigs and Ducks to the Rescue books!
The Book Without Pictures by B.J. Novak
This book has absolutely no pictures. Yet, it is guaranteed to get your kids laughing like crazy.
The idea behind the book is that the person reading must say every word on the page. Each one, no matter how silly.
For some reason children think that grown ups reading out words like BLORK is hysterical. Of course, you can play along and ham it up beautifully. Enjoy the helpless giggles.
Ok, no list of funny betimes stories would be complete without a pigeon book. We have two.
The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Willems
Children love the pigeon books. The naughty pigeon and it’s convoluted reasoning is guaranteed to get kids laughing. In this first book, our Pigeon is filthy.
The illustrations even show smelly waves coming from his body. Yet, our Pigeon does not want a bath.
There are all sorts of reasons give. Eventually Pigeon is made to get into the bath and then doesn’t want to get out! Classic Mo Willems and a lot of fun to read.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Williams
The book opens with a bus driver requesting the readers not let the pigeon drive the bus.
Then the pigeon appears.
He pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book. Children listening to the story are given the role of parents.
They get to tell the pigeon exactly what he cannot do. And they love it.
Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
There is one thing for sure, any book that even hints at underpants will be a huge hit with kids. We have two delights to share.
This book introduces us to different monsters from all over the globe. They all have one thing in common. Can you guess?
They enjoy being scary, but they absolutely LOVE underpants! They adore the patterns and twanging the elastic!
On Saturdays the monsters get together in a secret cave for disco night. But really it is an excuse to model their underpants. The code to get in is WOBBLY PANTS!
Are you laughing already? Your kids will love this book.
No That’s Wrong by Zhaohua Ji
Most preschoolers love a book about underpants and this one is really funny.
One windy day a pair of red knickers fly off a laundry line and are found by a rabbit.
The rabbit immediately knows what he has in his possession. “It’s a hat!”
As far as most children are concerned there isn’t anything funnier than a bunch of animals wearing underpants on their heads. This book will get everyone giggling.
I Need a New Butt by Dawn McMillan
Books about underpants are always a big hit. But a bedtime story about bums will cause hysterical giggles. This is one of the best funny bedtime stories going.
The hero of the story discovers something horrifying! His butt has cracked in two!
Did it happen on the slide or when he farted? He cannot figure it out, but one thing is for sure.
He needs a new butt. Will it be a green and blue one? Maybe an arty-farty one with a mural on it?
This book is almost guaranteed to be a hit! Kids love bathroom humour. This one doe a great job without being horribly gross.
“A silly story that will cause boys and girls to giggle from beginning to end!”
Norman Public Schools
Parts by Tedd Arnold
Have you noticed that kids love body humor? Here is a funny book about a young boy who discovers that horrifying things are happening to his body.
First he finds pieces of his hair in his comb. Then something falls out of his nose and there is weird fuzz in his bellybutton.
Just when he thinks it can’t get any worse, one of his teeth gets loose. This is a very funny story and has a great ending.
I think all parents will appreciate the humor of the mom holding the book entitled, “Parenting for Beginners.”
Wonkey Donkey By Craig Smith and Katz Cowley
You may have seen the YouTube video of a Scottish grandmother reading this book to her grandchild.
She laughs so hard that she can barely read the book. There is no doubt about it. This is a hilarious book.
The text repeats on every page with a small addition to the description of the donkey.
Eventually you end up with a spunky, hanky-panky, cranky, stinky, dinky, lanky, honky-tonky, winky, wonky, donkey!
Your child will love this cranky donkey who farts! Each page starts with “I was walking down the road and I saw a donkey, HEE-HAW!”
You know what to do right? Create the loudest HEE- HAW you can muster! Your kids will quickly join in.
Here’s that video, just in case you haven’t seen it.
We Are in a Book by Mo Willems
Gerald and Piggie find out they are characters in a book. They realize that this gives them power, because they can make the reader say whatever they want.
Piggie chooses the word banana. Gerald and Piggie think this is hilarious and make the reader say banana over and over.
Their fun ends abruptly when Gerald realises that the book is about to finish. He is horrified and wails, “I have more to give.”
It all ends well when Piggie has an idea. They just must ask the reader to read them again. This is a funny bedtime story that will have your kids laughing.
You may have to read it again. After all, who can resist an appeal by Gerald and Piggie?
Don’t Press the Button by Bill Cotter
This is a wonderfully interactive book and children love it. A likable monster called Larry explains the rule on the first page. Don’t push the button.
It is not a difficult thing to do right?
Just follow the rules and don’t push the thing. But what happens if we push that button?
We don’t know the consequences of pushing that button. It could be terrible, but it might be nothing.
Naturally, Larry talks the reader into pushing the button. This unleashes total mayhem!
There is only one thing to do. Follow Larry’s instruction to poke or shake the book repeatedly until things go back to normal. As you can imagine, kids love to do this. Have fun!
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox
A brilliant book of misunderstanding that will appeal to your kids sense of humour.
A prince rides up to Rapunzel’s tower. Our princess is complaining about the state of her hair and the prince mistakes this for a cry for help.
The prince tries to get Rapunzel to throw down her hair, but she can’t hear him properly. So, she throws down all kinds of wild and silly things.
- Silky dresses for tresses
- Underwear instead of hair
- Dirty socks in place of curly locks.
This is a tongue in cheek look at the traditional story. There is a marvellous twist at the end that completes this story beautifully.
Thomas’ Snowsuit by Robert Munsch
Every list of funny bedtime stories must have one by Robert Munsch. This story is an oldie but a goodie.
Thomas has a new snowsuit, and there is a big problem. It is really ugly. Thomas is determined not to wear it.
His mother, teacher and principal have the unhappy job of getting Thomas into his snowsuit. Utter chaos ensues!
My boys thought this book was the best! Of course, I encouraged them all to shout out NOOOOO with Thomas!
They thought the clothing swaps with the adults were so funny. This is a great read aloud.
Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. One day he receives a typed message.
The barn is cold at night, and they need electric blankets. The farmer says no, so the cows go on strike.
Then the chickens get in on the strike action. They want electric blankets too.
In the end the cows exchange the typewriter for electric blankets. A silly book that is a huge favorite with kids.
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
This book is wonderful. The desperate efforts of the wolves to build stronger and stronger houses and the antics of the big bad pig are hilarious.
As an added bonus the ending is a lot sweeter than the original tale. No one gets boiled alive or devoured. In fact the wolves and the pig become friends. Well worth the read.
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean
Pete the Cat is wearing his favorite shirt—the one with four, big, colorful, round, groovy buttons.
Unfortunately the buttons keep popping off but Pete doesn’t mind. Children love counting down the buttons with Pete and the story has a laugh out loud surprise at the end.
Check out this video if you want to learn the groovy button song. Younger children enjoy the repetition in this book and will soon “read” along with you. It’s all good.
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Duncan’s crayons are on strike. One morning he goes looking for them and finds a stack of letters instead.
Red feels overworked. Blue is tired of coloring water. Peach had its wrapper torn off and feels naked.
This book works well for children of many ages. The younger children tend to enjoy idea of the talking crayons, while the older preschoolers find the crayon’s letters very funny.
Stuck inside and need more ideas? Our Indoor Activities page is packed with crafts, games, science experiments and more to keep kids happily busy.
Why are bedtime stories are so important?
Reading at home is the perfect way to spend quality time with your child.
There is nothing quite like bonding over a good story. Laughing together over a funny bedtime story seems to be particularly powerful.
Reading to your child also helps increases their academic ability. MRI scans of young children’s brains showed that reading to them daily boosted brain development.
Other studies have shown the long-term benefits of reading aloud to children of all ages. Listen as Psychologist Collette Smart briefly explains these academic benefits
When kids are read to every day there’s a significant positive impact on their reading skills and cognitive skills, like numeracy. We see benefits in their development right up until about the age of 11, and those benefits last later in life.
Collett Smart.
Most children enjoy books of all kinds, but funny betimes stories are particularly popular with children and will quickly become favorites. The funnier the better!
A bedtime routine is an important way for children to wind down. Most children spend their days playing, learning, and finding ways to bug the adults around them.
They need a chance to relax before going to sleep. Reading bedtime stories is the perfect way to help them start to settle down.
Stories provide a good transition activity between full on activity and sleeping. Snuggling up with a parent and listening to the words signals the brain that it is time to get ready to sleep.
Funny bedtime stories are a good enticement for kids. They will be more willing to stop playing if they know there is a silly book waiting for them.
Do bedtime stories help children sleep?
Bedtime reading usually occurs when a child is tired and starting to relax. This means the act of listening to a story is identified with those feelings.
Your bedtime story sends signals yo your child’s body and brain that it is time to get ready to sleep. So, bedtime stories can help child relax and fall asleep faster.
However, very funny bedtime stories may get your child so excited they won’t be ready for sleep. Use the funny story to begin with.
The promise of a favorite is a powerful incentive to start the bedtime routine. But it is probably better to follow it with a quieter book if you can.
