The Serious Business of Funny Books

Funny books have the power to hook young readers, particularly reluctant readers, because of the joy they bring. Swapna Haddow, author of The Terrible Trio: The (Not So) Superheroes

The books I remember reading as a child are always without a doubt the funny ones. The memories of sitting on the carpet in my primary school classroom and howling with laughter as Burglar Bill stole a toothbrush, is something I still remember now, many, many, (many) years later.

And I’ve noticed this with my son too. When we talk about the books we’ve read together over the last fifteen years, the ones that stand out are the stories that had us both laughing right before bed, during evening story time.

There is something universal about laughing. It doesn’t matter your age, culture or your favourite spot on the carpet in the classroom, it is a unifying moment that cements itself as a fond memory almost instantaneously. Funny tales create those moments of ridiculousness that then inspire new moments of creativity in the reader. More often than not, after a school visit of reading funny books, teachers tell me their classes are itching to create their very own funny comic strips that they can’t wait to share with one another.

Funny books have the power to hook young readers, particularly reluctant readers, because of the joy they bring. This is so important for so many young readers who find themselves gaining a newfound skill in reading, but then, almost as quickly, losing the desire to read to so many other things in the digital world vying for their attention.

It’s for that very reason that keeping kids hooked on books is so important. Stories provide an escape from the heaviness of the day to day, the stress of the online world and teach empathy and resilience in the safety of the pages of a book. For many kids, books are the only way they can process complicated feelings and feel less alone in who they are.

And believe it or not, funny books are perfect for these moments. In fact, funny books have the power to make complex feelings accessible because of the magic of humour. Funny books can often be dismissed as fart jokes and silliness but look beneath, and you’ll find that these are stories that cleverly navigate tricky topics and emotions by intertwining the dark with the light.

I hope to have achieved that with The Terrible Trio. In series, three friends, Zeb the zebra, Barry the lemur and Margarine the penguin, find themselves with the worst superpowers in a world full of extraordinary superheroes. The very first book in the series is all about these characters finding their tribe and being comfortable with who they are. Minky Stapleton and I have worked hard to weave the light of humour in with the characters’ dark feelings of being a super-zero in a world of superheroes.

I wanted to write something that reminded young readers that their individualism is their very own superpower. Zeb, Barry and Margarine eventually learn that they are indeed every bit the superheroes they want to be, even though they don’t always see it in themselves. Their self-discovery, throughout the series, is teamed with a bunch of laughs along the way, a complete inability to fold napkins and a whole lot of bonkers situations. I hope the young superhero readers who read the books love the trio’s stories because I have had an absolute blast writing them.

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• Buy The (Not So) Superheroes (the Terrible Trio #1)

The Terrible Trio: The (Not So) Superheroes

n a world where all animals have superpowers, Zeb the zebra, Margarine the penguin, and Barry the lemur have the WORST powers of all.

Zeb, Margarine, and Barry end up at the back of the line to have the Superpower Supermarket Manager grant them their superpowers and end up getting the short end of the stick. Margarine is granted the special ability to make macaroni and cheese. Barry the Lemur is gifted with the power to write neatly. And Zeb the Zebra can now blend in with a crosswalk…

Working at a café and watching everybody else save the world day in and day out, Zeb, Margarine, and Barry wonder if they will ever get to be superheroes for a day themselves.