Winners of 2024 Laugh Out Loud Awards announced

At a ceremony hosted by author, actor and presenter Stephen Mangan at London’s Southbank Centre, the winners of the 2024 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies) were announced today. Supported by Scholastic, 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.

Michael Rosen is ambassador for The Lollies and said, ‘This is the moment when you can boost children’s love of reading: a brand new tranche of funny books, hitting the button, triggering giggles and laughs. Unmissable!’

 

 

The winners are:

Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book

I Did See a Mammoth! by Alex Willmore (Farshore)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book Ages 6–8

Bunny vs Monkey: Machine Mayhem! by Jamie Smart (David Fickling Books)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book Ages 9–12

How to Survive Time Travel by Larry Hayes and illustrated by Katie Abey (Simon & Schuster)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book For Teens

You’re Not the Boss of Me! by Catherine Wilkins (Nosy Crow)

Best Laugh Out Loud Book – Non-Fiction:

Cats: Understanding Your Whiskered Friend by Dr John Bradshaw and illustrated by Clare Elsom (Andersen Press)

Best Laugh Out Loud Books Poetry

The Gecko and the Echo by Rachel Bright and illustrated by Jim Field (Hachette)

Best Laugh Out Loud Illustrator of The Year was awarded to Jamie Smart.

Scholastic UK created The Lollies in 2015 following the end of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and added categories last year when the Blue Peter Book Awards ended.

With recent reports of the decline of reading for pleasure, celebrating books that children love reading has never been more important. Scholastic’s Kids and Family Reading Report: UK Edition revealed that nearly two thirds of children aged 6–17 chose ‘books that make me laugh’ as their top pick when reading for pleasure.

Catherine Bell, MD of Scholastic UK said, ‘We are so delighted to see another out-pouring of love and admiration for funny books. We know from our own research that 63% of children would self-select a funny book as a read for pleasure title and in a world where we are experiencing a reading crisis, celebrating the books that children really want to read can only be a good thing. Long live the Lollies and long live the amazing authors and illustrators delivering these fabulous books.

This year’s judges are former Children’s Laureate and long-time Lollies ambassador and Head Judge, Michael Rosen; Blue Peter presenter Shini Muthukrishnan; primary school teacher, Scott Evans; school librarian, Reba Khatun; and Su Inglis, Product Manager for Book Clubs and Fairs.