Hilarious picture books: The funny pages

There are some hilarious picture books out for the Christmas market this year, so we thought we might give you a chuckle with some of the funny pages. We have spreads of Stink-o-Saurus, by Deano Yipadee and Paul Beavis (Scholastic NZ); Classic Rhymes for Kiwi Kids, by Peter Millett and Scott Tulloch; Too Much Poo!, by Scott Tulloch (Scholastic NZ) and I Need a New Bum and Other Stories, by Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird (Oratia Books). All images reproduced with permission of the publishers and copyright holders.

Classic Rhymes for Kiwi Kids gives all the classic nursery rhymes a kiwi makeover. Millett has a sure eye for a rhyme and great imagination for which kiwi icons to fit in with which story. Scott Tulloch’s illustrations are as diverse in style and colour palette as the rhymes themselves, bringing his long experience to play. It was great to see the characters were not all Pakeha, and yes, girls do play rugby!

This book of rhymes not only has Sir Edmund Hillary, waka and rugby balls, but also brings you B-U-N-G-Y, Shortland Street references, Cheezels and more. As with the rhymes they are based on, some of the segments of rhyme are forced, but overall I’d recommend this to anybody who is sick of cockleshells and bluebells and obscure references to English life and wants something a little closer to home. Ages 1-5.

I need a new bum is the perfect story to open this bind-up of favourites from Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird. This collection also includes Seagull Sid and the naughty things his seagulls did! and Doggy Doo on my Shoe. While my favourite of the three was the Seagull who coaxed his friends to reclaim the foreshore (a political commentary?), my 5 and 7-year-old were almost literally rolling on the floor laughing about I need a new bum.

I think that this is worth collecting for those moments that you need a bribe book to get the kids off the screens: not too much thinking, pure humour and hilarity, and fabulously wild illustrations. I particularly like the arty-farty bum. For ages 2-8, or from whenever your child cracks their first toilet humour joke.

There is more poo than you could possibly imagine in Too Much Poo, about a little fly that bites off a little more than he can chew. Tulloch is on form here, with the fly hearing his next meal calling from the next spread, and rushing there to linger to find out the size of the meal. Of course, each time the next animal is bigger, and bigger and bigger.

The mind boggles as to what Tulloch’s illustration desk must have looked like and how his search browser shaped up after all the work he did to get the poo for each animal just right. Meanwhile, the animals are each looking perfectly satisfied with their emissions, and the little fly learns a (lightly taught) lesson about greed. For age 2-6, my eldest was a bit over this one!

Stan was a rare dinosaur, one of a kind. Most roars come from a dinosaur’s front, HIS roar came from his BEHIND! You’ll split your pants laughing at Stan, the worlds only Stink-o-Saurus. But can his stinky antics save the day and keep Tommy T-Rex far away?

This is singer/author Deano Yipadee and Paul Beavis’ third book together, and Beavis has once again been able to show off his perspective drawing, while Yipadee keeps us entertained with a good dollop of fart humour. Of course, being different isn’t easy, and this book shows that difference is a positive thing. For dino and fart lovers aged 3 +.