Funny stories for ages 8 to 10, without a graphic novel in sight.
If your David Walliams books have ‘mysteriously’ disappeared from your bookshelves this week, and you’re wondering what to hand your child next, this list is for you!
These are proper stories told in words, with illustrations to break up the page and jokes to keep them turning it. They’re for children aged roughly 8 to 10 who can read on their own but still need a book to be fun before they’ll stick with it. I’ve put them in order from easiest to most challenging, so you can start wherever suits your child.
Most are the first in a series, so once one lands you’ll know what to buy next.
1 You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum!
Mr Gum is a horrible old man who hates children, animals and fun. It’s short, completely bonkers and brilliant to read aloud. A good first pick if your child finds thick books off-putting.
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2 Grimwood
Fox cubs Ted and Nancy run away from the Big City to a forest full of very odd animals. There are pictures on almost every page and it’s gloriously silly.
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3 Anisha, Accidental Detective
It’s the day before Aunty Bindi’s wedding and the groom has been kidnapped, so Anisha has to find him. A funny mystery with a big, noisy family at its heart.
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4 Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good
The Norse god of mischief is sent to Earth as an eleven year old boy and made to keep a diary. It’s full of doodles, but it’s a diary and not a comic.
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5 The Great Chocoplot
The world’s chocolate is about to run out, and Jelly is suspicious. This has the same feel as a Walliams story, with a big daft plot, a brilliant gran and a proper villain.
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6 The Day I Fell into a Fairytale
Lana finds a doorway to a fairytale world in the pick and mix aisle of her local supermarket. It’s funny with a little bit of peril, and the chapters are short.
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7 The Creakers
Lucy wakes up to find every grown-up in town has vanished, and the answer is under her bed. It’s a longer book, but the pictures and silly footnotes keep it moving.
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8 The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates
Freddie sets off for Wales with his two best friends to find his biological dad. It’s very funny, and it might make you a bit teary too.
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9 Kid Normal
Murph is accidentally enrolled at a school for superheroes, and he’s the only one there with no powers at all. If I had to pick one book from this list for a Walliams fan, it would be this one.
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10 Who Let the Gods Out?
Elliot’s life changes when an immortal called Virgo crash-lands in his cowshed. It’s one of the longer books here, so save it for when they’re ready for a bigger story.
Buy on Bookshop.orgBefore you buy
If you’re not sure where to start, let your child choose. Children are much more likely to finish a book they picked themselves.
You can find the whole list in my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookshops.
See the full listMy book, How to Raise a Reader, is out on World Book Day, 4 March 2027.
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