Get ready to laugh out loud with the 2018 Lollies Award shortlist

Published on: 04 June 2018 Author: Catriona Wightman

Get ready for a giggle - the 2018 Lollies Award shortlist has been unveiled and it's a real hoot...

The 2018 Lollies Award shortlist has arrived and we're pleased to report that the 12 books that have been nominated are likely to make you chuckle, giggle and snort.

The Lollies celebrate the funniest books for children and the judges - chair Michael Rosen, CBBC presenter Katie Thistleton, primary school teachers and bloggers Jo Cummins and Jonny Walker, and Scholastic's Kate Newport - have done a brilliant job seeking out rib-tickling stories.

Now it's up to children to vote for their favourites in three categories - Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book, Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6-8 Year Olds, and Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13 Year Olds.

Check out the shortlist below:

Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book

• Mr Bunny's Chocolate Factory by Elys Dolan, published by OUP (read our review)
• The Squirrels Who Squabbled by Rachel Bright and Jim Field, published by Hachette 
• Oi Cat! by Kes Gray and Jim Field, published by Hachette (read our review)
• I Can Only Draw Worms by Will Mabbitt, published by Puffin (read our review)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6-8 Year Olds

• Barry Loser and the Birthday Billions by Jim Smith, published by Egmont
• The Big, Fat, Totally Bonkers Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp, published by Scholastic
• There's A Werewolf in My Tent by Pamela Butchart and Thomas Flintham, published by Nosy Crow (read our review)
• Lyttle Lies: The Pudding Problem by Joe Berger, published by Simon & Schuster (read our review)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13 Year Olds

• Tom Gates: Epic Adventure (Kind Of) by Liz Pichon, published by Scholastic 
• My Mum's Growing Down by Laura Dockrill and David Tazzyman, published by Faber (read our review)
• Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure by A. L. Kennedy and Gemma Correll, published by Walker
• Football School 2: Where Football Saves the World by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton and Spike Gerrell, published by Walker

'Infectious and contagious and dangerous'

Michael Rosen, the poet and former Children's Laureate who champions funny writing for children, announced the shortlist and said he thinks these books could help young people fall in love with reading.

'Anyone around children looking for books to have them giggling and laughing over and over again, these 12 books will do the job,' he said. 'They are infectious and contagious and dangerous!

'Children will want to read them and ask for more. People talk about the importance of getting children reading - well, these shortlisted books do the work all by themselves.'

Children will also get to decide which book wins each category by voting online on the Lollies website or PopJam channel.

Voting opens today, 4 June, and closes on 14 December 2018 so there's plenty of time for young readers to have their say (and teachers can submit votes on behalf of their class, too).

The winning books will be announced in January 2019, but in the meantime, you can get your children voting and find out more information on the Lollies website here.