Monthly Special
Funny Books

Intermediate Fiction | Young Adult Fiction

The books recommended below were published within the last few years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Intermediate Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 4–6

Whales on Stilts written by M. T. Anderson, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus (Harcourt)
In this satirical send-up of series fantasy, Lily Gefelty finds herself in the thick of the action when a visit to her dad’s office convinces her that a stilt-walking army of whales is about to take over the world. 200 pages.

Exploits of a Reluctant (But Extremely Goodlooking) Hero by Maureen Fergus (Kids Can)
A self-centered thirteen-year-old narrator obliviously plays the buffoon in his own audio diary, which brims with misplaced bravado. 215 pages.

The Pepins and Their Problems written by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Marylin Hafner (Farrar)
Light domestic fiction gets a postmodern twist in these deliciously silly stories about a family rivaling Hale’s Peterkins for foolishness and Cresswells’ Bagthorpes for effervescent wit. 179 pages.

Ferret Island by Richard W. Jennings (Lorraine/Houghton)
While on a sightseeing tour, fourteen-year-old Will falls into the Mississippi and finds himself stranded on an island inhabited by giant ferrets and a reclusive author who’s training the ferrets to be eco-terrorists. 227 pages.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (Lorraine/Houghton)
This lollipop of metafiction features four (self-described) old-fashioned children who notice their own resemblance to children’s book characters and aspire above all else to be orphans. 174 pages.

The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater (Houghton)
In this nostalgic, oddball sightseeing adventure through late 1940s Los Angeles, Neddie meets part-time Navajo shaman Melvin, who gives him a stone turtle that can save civilization. 307 pages.

Only You Can Save Mankind; Johnny and the Dead;Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins)
The classic Pratchett synergy of irony, wit, and slapstick humor infuses these tales of likable slacker Johnny Maxwell and his friends, who land face-first in adventures involving persecuted video-game aliens, disgruntled ghosts, and time travel, respectively. 245 pages.

Larklight; Starcross; Mothstorm written by Philip Reeve, illustrated by David Wyatt (Bloomsbury)
Two siblings in an alternative nineteenth-century Great Britain (in space!) join a teenage pirate and his motley band of extraterrestrials after their home is attacked by giant spiders; investigate mysterious and sinister happenings at an intergalactic vacation resort; and save the universe from an invasion of giant moths.

Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians; Alcatraz and the Scrivener’s Bones by Brian Sanderson (Scholastic)
Newly thirteen-year-old Alcatraz discovers his secret birthright and is charged with freeing our world, the Hushlands, from oppressive Librarian rule in this series big on action and meta-sarcasm. 308 pages.

The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow by Kaye Umansky (Candlewick)
Merging Dickens with Lemony Snicket, this entertaining farce introduces Solly Snow, a baby abandoned on a snowy doorstep with only a silver spoon to his name, now grown up and in search of his true identity. 289 pages.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Dutton)
Former child prodigy Colin, who only dates girls named Katherine, recovers from yet another breakup when his best friend Hassan drags him out of bed — and to Tennessee on a road trip. 229 pages.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson (Point/Scholastic)
Drama queen Mrs. Amberson moves into Scarlett’s family’s occupancy-challenged Manhattan hotel and proceeds to hatch schemes to save the hotel and resolve Scarlett's love life in this over-the-top comedy presented with wry New York aplomb. 353 pages.

I’m Being Stalked by a Moonshadow by Doug MacLeod (Front Street)
In a lighthearted Australian tale, Seth and his first girlfriend, muscular Miranda, overcome such obstacles as a feud between their fathers and Seth’s lack of sweet-talking experience. 200 pages.

The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck (Dial)
Within days of his teacher’s (unlamented) passing in rural 1904 Indiana, fifteen-year-old Russell finds himself an unwilling pupil of her replacement: his older sister Tansy. 195 pages.

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