At a special ceremony at London’s Southbank Centre, author, actor and presenter Stephen Mangan has announced the winners of the 2025 Laugh Out Loud Awards aka The Lollies.

The Lollies is the UK’s biggest celebration of funny books and one of the few awards where the winners are voted for by children. The audience at the ceremony was full of excited children plus Lollies’ ambassador Michael Rosen, along with authors Thiago de Moraes, Anita Mangan, Serena Patel, Liz Pichon, and Jim Smith.

The winners, officially the funniest books for children, are:

Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book

There’s Nothing Faster Than a Cheetah by Tom Nicoll and Ross Collins (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book Ages 6–8

Trixie Pickle Art Avenger: Toxic Takedown by Olaf Falafel (Puffin)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book Ages 9–12

Evil Emperor Penguin: The World Will Be Mine! by Laura Ellen Anderson (David Fickling Books)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book Non-Fiction

Kay’s Incredible Inventions by Adam Kay and illustrated by Henry Paker (Puffin)

Michael Rosen says, ‘Funny books bring joy. Simple as that. If you want to get children laughing and reading for pleasure – look no

Michael Rosen at the Lollies Awards 2025.

further than this year’s brilliant Lollies shortlist and winners.’

Catherine Bell, MD of Scholastic UK, says, ‘For almost 10 years, The Lollies Awards have championed the funniest children’s books of the year – chosen by children. Ahead of the National Year of Reading, we are so proud to announce our new set of fabulously funny winners that are perfect for reading for pleasure. Congratulations to all the incredibly talented authors and illustrators on the whole shortlist.’

The shortlists for the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards aka The Lollies have been announced.

The Lollies were created in response to the end of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2015 and have been expanded this year, with new categories added. The Lollies recognise and celebrate funny books and remain one of the very few awards where the winners are determined by children’s votes alone.

The shortlists were selected by Lollies Ambassador Michael Rosen, illustrator Anita Mangan, authors Ella McLeod and Steven Butler, Assistant Headteacher Rani Tiwana and Book Club Product Manager Su Inglis.

The shortlists for each category are:

BEST LAUGH OUT LOUD PICTURE BOOK

Agent Llama – written by Angela Woolfe, illustrated by Duncan Beedie (Little Tiger)
Ten Delicious Teachers – written by Ross Montgomery, illustrated by Sarah Warburton (Walker)
The King’s Birthday Suit – written by Peter Bently, illustrated by Claire Powell (Bloomsbury)
Wee? It Wasn’t Me! – written by Clare Helen Walsh, illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne (Macmillan)

BEST LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK AGES 6–8
A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch – written by Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Thomas Flintham (Nosy Crow)
Genie and Teeny: Make a Wish – written and illustrated by Steven Lenton (Harper Collins)
Grimwood – written and illustrated by Nadia Shireen (Simon and Schuster)
The Worst Class in the World Gets Worse – written by Joanna Nadin, illustrated by Rikin Parekh (Bloomsbury)

BEST LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK AGES 9–12

A Dinosaur Ate My Sister – written by Pooja Puri, illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan (Macmillan)
Freddy vs School – written and illustrated by Neill Cameron (David Fickling)
The Amazing Edie Eckhart – written by Rosie Jones, illustrated by Natalie Smillie (Hachette)
The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh – written by Helen Rutter, illustrated by Andrew Bannecker (Scholastic)

BEST LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK FOR TEENS

Hexed – written by Julia Tuffs (Hachette)
Not My Problem – written by Ciara Smyth (Andersen)
The Summer We Turned Green – written by William Sutcliffe (Bloomsbury)
You’re the One That I Want – written by Simon James Green (Scholastic)

BEST LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK – NON-FICTION

A Day in the Life of a Caveman, a Queen and Everything in Between – written by Mike Barfield, illustrated by Jess Bradley (Michael O’Mara)
Corpse Talk: Dead Good Storytellers – written by Adam and Lisa Murphy (David Fickling)
So You Think You’ve Got It Bad? A Kid’s Life in the Aztec Age – written by Chae Strathie, illustrated by Marisa Morea (Nosy Crow)
Unleash Your Creative Monster: A Children’s Guide to Writing – written by Andy Jones, illustrated by Olaf Falafel (Walker)

BEST LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOKS POETRY

Daydreams and Jellybeans – written by Alex Wharton, illustrated by Katy Riddell (Firefly Press)
Midnight Magic: Mirror Mischief – written by Michelle Harrison, illustrated by Elissa Elwick (Little Tiger)
Yapping Away – written by Joshua Seigal, illustrated by Sarah Horne (Bloomsbury)
This is NOT a Unicorn – written by Barry Timms, illustrated by Ged Adamson (Nosy Crow)

BEST LAUGH OUT LOUD ILLUSTRATOR OF THE YEAR

Dapo Adeola
Liz Pichon
Steven Lenton
Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet

The winners will be announced in July.

Ella McLeod, author of Rapunzella or Don’t Touch My Hair and Lollies Judge said, ‘Judging the Lollies was such a delight. It’s not always easy to encourage young people to read but it’s vital that we do, and comedy seems like an excellent place to start. Laughter is such a great unifier, isn’t it? A shared sense of humour can really connect people and I hope this shortlist provides ample opportunity for kids to sit and chat and giggle together.’