The Giant Print Library
Funny stories for
younger readers
Updated: November 2012
Any UK member of our library service
may borrow up to a maximum of 6
books per service for a 3 month loan
period.
Most of the books have been produced
by the National Blind Children's
Society and are in 24 point type with
identical covers to the ordinary print
versions of the books.
Please be aware that due to their size,
many of the books are split into two or
Logo – RNIB supporting blind and partially sighted people
Registered charity number 226227
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more volumes, and these will have the
same covers.
For details on borrowing any of the
titles listed or for further information
regarding the Giant Print collection
please contact Liz Farrell or Hazel
Sharrock, Children's Librarians at
RNIB National Library Service on 0161
429 1975.
Funny Stories
Ahlberg, Allan.
The man who wore all his
clothes. 2002. Suggested reading
age 7+. 1v.
One morning Mr Gaskitt puts on all his
clothes, Mrs Gaskitt picks up a robber
in her taxi, Gus and Gloria have
trouble with a teacher. Horace the cat
goes to a friend's house to watch TV
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and the car radio gets things wrong.
But then what happens? And why
does Mr. Gaskitt wear all his clothes?
Andreae, Giles.
Billy Bonkers. 2006. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
Mad stuff happens with Billy Bonkers.
Life is never boring with Billy - it's
Bonkers. Three hilarious stories in
one.
Beano Annual 2008. Suggested
reading age 7+. 2v.
Popular comic fun.
Blume, Judy.
Freckle juice. 1971. Suggested
reading age 7+.
Andrew decides that if he were
covered in freckles like his classmate,
Nicky, no one would notice whether he
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had washed his face or behind his
ears.
Brown, Jeff.
Flat Stanley. 1964. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
Stanley is just a normal healthy boy,
but since a large notice-board fell on
him, he's been only half an inch thick.
But it's not always easy being different!
Byars, Betsy.
The eighteenth emergency. 1991.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Benjie, the one they call "mouse", is
threatened by the toughest boy in the
school, Marv Hammerman. Benjie and
friend Ezzie have often worked out
solutions to problems, but how are
they to deal with the biggest
emergency of all?
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Capparucci, Dinah.
Warning! Aliens are invading the
school. 2010. Suggested reading
age 9+. 1v.
Jordan, Ryan and Boy Dave always
get blamed for everything. And OK,
most of them it is their fault - but this is
one time it definitely wasn't! How could
they have known that trying to save
the world and being accidental reality
TV stars would end in disaster?
Dahl, Roald.
Esio trot. 1991. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
Mr Hoppy, a retired bachelor, harbours
a secret passion for the attractive
widow Mrs Silver. She, however, loves
another - Alfie, her pet tortoise.
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Dahl, Roald
The giraffe and the pelly and me.
1985. Suggested reading age 7+.
1v.
Billy is surprised when a giraffe, a
pelican and a monkey move into the
queer old wooden house that used to
be a sweet shop. The giraffe is
concerned because they need work for
their Ladderless Window-Cleaning
Company.
Dahl, Roald.
The Twits. 2001. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
Mr and Mrs Twit are twits. They are
also very nasty. So the Muggle-Wump
monkeys and the Roly-Poly bird
decide to give them the nasty surprise
they deserve.
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Dahl, Roald.
The vicar of Nibbleswicke. 1992.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
Reverend Lee doesn't realise that his
dyslexia is affecting his sermons. His
parishioners are at first amused and
then shocked by the garbled
messages coming from the pulpit.
Finally a cure is found. The vicar must
walk backwards for the rest of his life.
Fine, Anne.
Bill's new frock. 2000. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
When Bill Simpson woke up on
Monday morning, he found he was a
girl. Forced off to school in a frilly pink
dress Bill discovers one of the worst
days of his life is about to begin.
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Fine, Anne.
How to write really badly. 1996.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
Chester Howard quickly decides he
hates his new school. The boy he sits
next to, Joe, is the 'Writer from Hell'
and when Joe chooses 'How to write
neatly' as his project, Chester
persuades him to change the title to
'How to write really badly.'
Fine, Anne.
Ivan the Terrible. 2007.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
It's Ivan's first day at his new school,
and Boris is told to translate for him as
Ivan can only speak Russian. After all,
St Edmund's is a civilized school! Only
problem is, Ivan isn't civilized and
Boris realises that he's going to have
his work cut out for him.
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Fine, Anne.
Madame Doubtfire. 1994.
Suggested reading age 11+. 1v.
Lydia, Christopher and Natalie, since
their parent's divorce, are used to
travelling between their volatile
mother, Miranda and Daniel their outof-work actor father. When Miranda
advertises for someone to supervise
the children, Daniel disguises himself
and applies for the job.
Freedman, Claire.
Aliens love underpants. 2007.
Suggested reading age 0-4. 1v.
"Aliens love underpants, in every
shape and size, But there are no
underpants in space, so here's a big
surprise..." you'll laugh your pants off!
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Gervais, Ricky.
Flanimals. 2004. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
A wonderful collection of spectacularly
ugly creatures!
Girling, Brough.
Vera Pratt and the Bishop's false
teeth. 1987. Suggested reading
age 7+. 1v.
Have you ever met a toothless Bishop
who prefers to travel by sidecar? And
his chauffeur is Vera Pratt, aceadventurer and fanatic mechanic. Vera
needs all her wits about her when the
Bishop becomes a victim of
blackmail…
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Gleitzman, Morris.
The other facts of life. 1985.
Suggested reading age 11+. 1v.
Ben is behaving very strangely. He's
been shutting himself in the bathroom
every day for two weeks. His parents
are worried. Is it time they told him
about the facts of life? Ben actually
has some other questions and he's
determined to get answers. And so
begins a crusade that's both deadly
serious and very, very funny.
Green, Jessica.
Diary of a would-be princess: the
journal of Jillian James, 5B /
2007. Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
All Jillian wants is to be like the
princess-y girls who rule her class.
What she doesn't want is to hang out
with a load of dorky boys. But it's only
when her plans go hilariously wrong,
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that things start turning unexpectedly
right.
Horowitz, Anthony.
Groosham Grange. 1995.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
David quickly discovers that his new
school, Groosham Grange, is a very
weird place indeed. New pupils sign
their names in blood; the French
teacher disappears every full moon
and the assistant headmaster keeps
something very chilling in his
room...and that's just the first year…
Jennings, Paul
Unreal! 1994. Suggested reading
age 9+.1v.
(Unbelievable! by this author is also
available.) It's unreal - a sea of flies; a
reunion of bones; wonder underpants;
cow dung custard. A collection of eight
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quirky, bizarre, and very funny short
stories from Paul Jennings.
Johnson, Pete
The bad spy's guide. 2007.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Everyone thinks Tasha's a big joke
because she is obsessed with spies.
But when Henry, the new boy at
school accidentally mixes up his
notebook with hers, Tasha finds out
that he is a teenage spy. A funny
thriller.
Jones, Diana Wynne.
Archer's Goon. 2000. Suggested
reading age 9+. 2v.
Fact: A Goon is a being who melts into
the foreground and sticks there...When
the Goon turns up demanding
"Archer's two thousand", life turns
upside-down. Howard discovers that
the town is run by seven crazy wizards
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(not all of whom live in the present!)
and someone is trying to take over the
world! Exciting, bizarre and truly
hilarious!
King-Smith, Dick.
Uncle Bumpo. 1994. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
Penny is thrilled when Uncle Bumpo
comes to stay and they get on really
well together. That is, until, Penny
discovers something awful about
Uncle Bumpo - with disastrous results.
Lamb, Kathryn.
Honestly Mum. 2004. Suggested
reading age 11+. 1v.
Amy is an only child leading a quiet
and orderly life. But one day, her mum
gets hit head on the head by a cricket
ball, which makes her ruthlessly
honest, speaking her mind at the
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wrong moment, with disastrous effects
on Amy's friendships!
Lawrence, Michael.
The poltergoose. 2000.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Book 1 of the Jiggy McCue series.
(Other books in this series are also
available). Something's after Jiggy
McCue! Something big and angry and
invisible, which hisses and flaps and
stabs his bum and generally tries to
make his life a misery. Where did it
come from?
Murphy, Jill.
The worst witch. 1978.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
Mildred Hubble was a trainee witch at
Miss Cackle's Academy and she was
making an awful mess of it. She
couldn't even ride a broomstick without
crashing it and she was always getting
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her spells wrong. But she managed to
get by until she turned Ethel, the
teacher's pet, into her deadly enemy...
Nadin, Joanna
My so-called life : the tragically
normal diary of Rachel Riley.
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
Rachel Riley is the offspring of a
depressingly unbroken home. It is time
to change things. Rachel resolves that
this year she will become tragic,
literary and interesting - and will win
the heart of Justin, the lead guitarist
from Certain Death, along the way.
Laugh-out-loud funny from beginning
to end!
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Pilkey, Dav
The adventures of Captain
Underpants: an epic novel. 2000.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
George and Harold create the greatest
super-hero in their school's history and
now they're about to bring him to life.
Meet Captain Underpants. His identity
is so secret, even he doesn't know
who he is.
Pratchett, Terry.
The amazing Maurice and his
educated rodents. 2002.
Suggested reading age 9+. 2v.
Book 1 of the Discworld (children's)
series. (Other books in this series are
also available.) Scruffy tomcat Maurice
has the perfect fiddle going. He has a
stupid-looking kid for a piper and his
very own plague of strangely educated
rats…
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Rennison, Louise.
Angus, thongs and full-frontal
snogging : confessions of
Georgia Nicolson. 2000.
Suggested reading age 13+. 1v.
Book 1 of the Confessions of Georgia
Nicolson (Other books in this series
are also available). Georgia not only
has to cope with the hormonal
rollercoaster of teenagedom that
refuses to stop, but seems to get every
situation hopelessly wrong!
Rosen, Michael (Editor).
Funny stories. 1991. Suggested
reading age 9+. 2v.
A selection of humourous stories form
around the world by a wide range of
authors, chosen by Michael Rosen.
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Rusbridger, Alan.
The coldest day in the zoo. 2004.
Suggested reading age 7+.
Slap bang in the middle of the coldest
Friday of the coldest week of the year,
the central heating breaks down at
Melton Mowbray Zoo. Mr Pickles the
head keeper asks all the other keepers
to take the animal they are in charge of
home for the weekend. The results
vary in their success…
Simon, Francesca.
Horrid Henry's underpants. 2003.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
(Other books in the Horrid Henry
series are also available).
In this collection of four new Horrid
Henry stories, Henry hits on
a brilliant way to write thank you
letters, negotiates over vegetables,
competes with Perfect Peter over
which of them is sickest, and finds
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himself wearing the wrong underpants,
with dreadful consequences.
Stanton, Andy.
You're a bad man Mr Gum! 2006.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
Mr Gum is a truly nasty old man. He's
absolutely grimsters. But there is also
a little girl called Polly, an evil butcher,
heroes and sweets and stuff, and Jake
the dog, who must be saved from
terrible, terrible evil.
Storr, Catherine.
Clever Polly and the stupid wolf.
1967. Suggested reading age 7+.
1v.
It's not every little girl who finds a great
black wolf at her front door, saying he's
going to eat her up. But clever Polly
isn't frightened. She has a plan that's
bound to foil the stupid wolf!
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Strong, Jeremy
The beak speaks. 2010.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
Batpants the orang-utan is completely,
wildly hairy. She loves swinging
through trees, and apple crumble and
roast chicken. But most of all she loves
her family, the Loveharts, and all their
madcap adventures. Mrs Lovehart is a
stuntwoman and so the whole family is
off to watch her in action in her latest
film.
Strong, Jeremy
The beak speaks. 2003.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
Mark is concerned that his dad has too
much to do since his mum left so he
advertises for a girlfriend for his dad
and soon his vet's surgery is full of
eager women, including the beautiful,
but evil, Divine and her ugly
henchman, Jaundice…
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Strong, Jeremy
Dinosaur pox. 1999. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
Jodie becomes a dinosaur overnight
and is whisked into hospital. Her
brother rescues her - but where can
she hide? Soon the whole police force
is after her.
Strong, Jeremy
Fanny witch and the thunder
lizard. 1989. Suggested reading
age 5+. 1v.
Two books in one volume featuring the
lovable Fanny Witch, the village
schoolteacher who goes on all sorts of
rescue missions.
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Strong, Jeremy
I'm telling you they're aliens!
2000. Suggested reading age 7+.
1v.
Rob worries about everything, from
being bitten by snakes to dinosaurs
waiting round corners. So when the
Vorks move in across the road, Rob is
convinced that they're aliens and that
he has to save the world.
Strong, Jeremy.
My brother's famous
bottom.2006. Suggested reading
age 7+. 1v.
(Also available: My brother's famous
bottom get's pinched).
Now that the twins (Cheese and
Tomato) have been born, the family
needs to earn more money. Dad starts
to grow his own vegetables and keep a
goat for milking - with disastrous
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results in exploding yoghurt. Then the
twins audition for a nappy advert…
Strong, Jeremy.
My dad's got an alligator. 2007.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
It's that alligator Dad should never
have brought it into the house.
Crunchbag has escaped! Soon he's
running riot in the bathroom and on the
roof and even in the park! But he
wouldn't eat poor defenceless Granny
would he?
Strong, Jeremy.
We want to be on telly. 2010.
Suggested reading age 7+. 1v.
The hilariously funny story of Heathrow
(affectionately named after London's
airport) whose totally embarrassing
parents will do anything to be on TV,
even if it involves rice pudding or a
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racing car or a rhinoceros. But in the
end it's Heathrow's quick thinking
that makes the news headlines.
Townsend, Sue.
The secret diary of Adrian Mole
aged 13 3/4. 1982. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
Book 1 of the Adrian Mole series (The
growing pains of Adrian Mole is also
available). Dogged by misfortunes
common to anyone above the age of
13, from spots to cracks in his parents'
marriage, Adrian's life is brightened by
his passion for a 14 year-old feminist
called Pandora.
Wilson, Anna
Puppy love. 2008. Suggested
reading age 7+. 1v.
In my life I have wished a million
thousand times for a puppy, so was
officially over the moon when I finally
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obtained Parental Consent to get
Honey - the most absolutely softest
and velvetest Golden Labrador you
have ever imagined. Since she moved
in we have had some extremely funny
adventures while dealing with my
weird sister April.