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Where are the funny books for teenagers?

Written By Unknown on Monday, December 2, 2013 | 10:24 AM


Humour is just as important in teen fiction as for younger children - it's just not signalled so clearly. The Roald Dahl funny prize aims to put a stop to that



Are teenagers thought too old for 'funny books'? From Dr Seuss's The Cat in the Hat through Andy Stanton's Mr Gum books and not forgetting everything and anything by Roald Dahl, my twelve-year-old has devoured everything that makes him laugh. They are the books that have kept reading alive for him. Now he's hitting 'teen' titles and they mostly seem very far from funny. Can't teenagers laugh too?



Teenagers certainly can laugh at books and there are many which are designed to make them do exactly that. It may be that they are harder to find, as they are not so overtly packaged as "funny books" as titles for younger readers. Just look at David Walliams's new and best-selling books Mr Stink and Gangsta Granny - everything from the titles to the Tony Ross or Quentin Blake covers signal that they are funny.


In books for teenagers the humour can be just as is important, but it may not be how the book is categorised. Andy Mulligan's Ribblestrop, for example, is typically described as a school stories, but the fantastical things that happen at the school are cleverly constructed and very, very funny.


Similarly, Anne Fine's The More the Merrier is a sober story about all the many things that can go wrong at Christmas as family relationships crack under the pressures, but it is told with Fine's needle-sharp wit which allows the reader to laugh even while they feel sad.


Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is a dark, dark story of family murder but as recounted in both Neil Gaiman's words and Chris Riddell's illustrations it is also wickedly funny.


For teenage girls who like to laugh you can't get much funnier than Louise Rennison's Withering Tights, the first title in her series about Tullalah Casey as she newly arrives at drama school in Yorkshire.


It was one of the early winners of the Roald Dahl funny prize, a brilliant award conceived and established by Michael Rosen during his time as children's laureate and first awarded in 2008.


Rosen felt that funny books didn't get the recognition they deserved: in particular, they rarely appeared on prize lists. Now, they have a prize all of their own and the 20013 winners, including the funniest book for 7-14, will be announced on Tuesday 10 December.


Do you have a question for Book Doctor? Email us at childrens.books@guardian.co.uk and we will pass your question on to her.






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