Founded by Michael Rosen as part of his work as Children's Laureate 2007-09, the Roald Dahl Funny Prize is the first prize of its kind – founded to honour those books that simply make us laugh.
The Roald Dahl Funny Prize aims to:
> promote laughter and humour as a feel-good factor when reading, by encouraging families to read together and discover the pleasure of humorous (funny) books. This in turn will reinforce the message that reading together promotes family well-being.
> draw attention to funny books as readable and enjoyable books. We hope that the prize will enable these books to gain a profile that makes them more accessible to children and young people. The prize will work to achieve this through a range of activities supported by libraries, teachers and parents.
> reward and encourage authors (and illustrators) who write and illustrate books using humour in their stories, poetry and fiction. By creating these awards we hope to promote a vibrant area of publishing often overlooked by other awards.
2009 prize
Michael Rosen announced the splendiferous winners of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2009 at the Unicorn Theatre.
For children aged six and under, the winning book was Mr Pusskins Best in Show by Sam Lloyd (Orchard Books)
For children aged seven to fourteen, the winning book was Grubtown Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky by Philip Ardagh, illustrated by Jim Paillot (Faber and Faber)
The shortlists were announced on Monday 7 September 2009.
The funniest book for children aged six and under
The Great Dog Bottom Swap by Peter Bently, illus. Mei Matsuoka (Andersen Press)
Octopus Socktopus by Nick Sharratt (Alison Green Books)
Elephant Joe is a Spaceman! by David Wojtowycz (Alison Green Books)
Crocodiles Are the Best Animals of All! by Sean Taylor, illus. Hannah Shaw (Frances Lincoln)
Mr Pusskins Best in Show by Sam Lloyd (Orchard Books)
The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg, illus. Bruce Ingman (Walker Books)
The funniest book for children aged seven to fourteen
The Galloping Ghost by Hilda Offen (Catnip Publishing)
Eating Things on Sticks by Anne Fine, illus. Kate Aldous (Doubleday)
Grubtown Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky by Philip Ardagh, illus. Jim Paillot (Faber and Faber)
The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams, illus. Quentin Blake (HarperCollins)
Purple Class and the Half-Eaten Sweater by Sean Taylor, illus. Helen Bate (Frances Lincoln)
Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan (Simon & Schuster)
Commenting on the winner’s books, Michael Rosen said:
‘Welcome to Grubtown and a cast of characters crazy enough to wake Spike Milligan from his home on the Ning Nang Nong. Here we have Manual Org who is so repulsive and smelly, Philip Ardagh has to take a several-page break for a bath. There's Farflung Heaps, Constable Gelatine, Acrid Scorn, Mango Claptrap and many more. Noddy and Toytown, it isn't.
'Mr Pusskins is a cat who could turn into a catastrophe but instead, he's a champ. Even though he heads for the toilet instead of the cat-show, and even though he doesn't realise he's wizzing through an obstacle race, he ends up being the winner. If only life was as easy. This is a ridiculously funny book, full of marvellously mischievous cartooning.’
The winners were presented with a cheque for £2,500 and a bottle of wine from Roald Dahl’s personal wine cellar.
Download the press release (Microsoft Word doc.283 Kb)
Read the press release about the launch of the prize (Microsoft Word .doc 300Kb)
Click here for info on the 2009 judges
Prize administration
Prize information
Claire Shanahan
t 020 8516 2972
e prizes@booktrust.org.uk
