My Son’s Top 10: Funny Alien Books (ages 4-12)

Is it just us or are aliens funny? I like the stories where the aliens are hanging out, living next door and blending in with humanity. No one seems to notice that they are little different. Alien invasions despite their superior technology and plan to dominate the world can also be humorous. We like alien adventures in any book genre as long as they don’t take themselves too seriously.

My conclusion after making this list: there are not enough funny alien books for kid out there! Authors! Please write more! They get kids reading.

Funny Alien Picture Books

Mr. Wuffles by David Weisner

It’s an alien invasion of very small aliens and Mr. Wuffles, the family cat, is intrigued. This is far more interesting than the cat toys his family has been tempting him with! The aliens want to get away but they need to repair their ship after Mr. Wuffles used it as a toy. The native insects are recruited for a double team against Mr. Wuffles and an escape plan is hatched. Who knew that aliens and insects speak the same language? [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Baloney (Henry P.) by Jon Scieszka

Henry is late to school but he has a very good, but elaborate, excuse. He needs to convince Miss Bugscuffle, his teacher to avoid permanent lifelong detention. He was delayed, mostly because of his zimulus, but it also involved a deski, torakku, razzo launch pad, pordo, the wrong buttuna and more aliens. In the end, his zimulus saves him … and his lack of knowledge of physics. Good thing it’s tall tale writing today! [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Dear Flyary by Dianne Young

This is a pretty laffy picture book. Frazzle Pattzer from Merfatil writes in his flyary. He gets a spaceship for his dropday on 75 Red Moon 4851. At first his spaceship sounds perfect but then it starts making strange noises. Wurpitz Hoolo’s Spaceship Repair, Wash and Fillerup Station takes care of his ship. When he finally gets a new one, he finds that he misses those old noies. Wurpitz knows just what to do for that too. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Funny Alien Early Chapter Books

Julian Rodriguez series by Alexander Stadler

This is a personal favorite early chapter book series of mine. The premise is that Julian Rodriguez is planted into an ordinary family as their son, but he’s really an alien in disguise collecting intelligence. He finds human habits odd, demeaning, and disgusting, from doing chores to eating carrot sticks. Readers will find his perspective hilarious and parents will like the use of SAT vocabulary words. It’s a win-win for everyone, except Julian himself. [early chapter book series, ages 6 and up]

Funny Alien Graphic Novels for Kids

The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs by Mike Lowery

This is a novel idea … a graphic novel where the reader draws in the book to decide what happens in the story. Though these doodle adventures won’t work for a library, they make for fun summer reading (and drawing). [doodle graphic novel, ages 6 and up]

Ben 10 series

My son loved the Ben 10 TV cartoon so much that he also read the early chapter book series. Ben’s adventures on the small screen translate perfectly to books for young boys. [early chapter books, ages 7 and up]

Funny Alien Chapter Books for Kids

Guys Read: Other Worlds edited by Jon Scieszka

My son loves the Guys Read series which is a compilation of short stories of prominent children’s book authors meant to get boys reading. His favorite funny stories in this book are: Bouncing the Grinning Goat by Shannon Hale and The Warlords of Recess by Eric Nylund. They are not to be missed! [short story anthology, ages 8 and up]

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

Here’s an update from Adam Rex with regard to an analysis by Debbie Reese on the Native American references.

Adam Rex‏ @MrAdamRex

In my effort to write a satire and critique of colonialism, I made mistakes that undermined my message. Reese enumerated these mistakes better than I can here: …https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/search?q=Smek I encourage you to read her reviews of my book and its sequel.

It’s hard to describe this book other than it’s a hilarious road trip with 11-year-old Gratuity “Tip” Tucci and her cat in search of her mother after aliens invade Earth and relocate the people to Florida. Her travel partner in crime is one of the aliens on the lam, J.Lo. If things weren’t complicated enough, another alien species arrives who is even worse than the first one. Alien invasion, though with high stakes, has never been funnier.

Of all the chapter books on this list, this is our favorite. If you want to see the movie, be sure and read the book first. The movie isn’t true to the book. [chapter book, ages 9 and up]

Unidentified Suburban Object by Mike Jung

I like a chapter book with a surprise twist. This starts off as a Korean American story of Chloe Cho, your average Tiger Cub who plays violin well, gets good grades and is an exemplary student. But then things change. Why? I can’t tell you. But this is a twist on the Model Minority Asian American stereotype, and it’s funny to boot. [chapter book, ages 9 and up]

The Drake Equation by Bart King

If aliens from other planets were to visit us, would they study us much like Jane Goodall studied the chimpanzees? What if the study of primitive humans on earth were a science project for a young (but advanced) being from another world? If so, would they be protective of us, the way Jane Goodall is of her chimpanzees?

These are not questions that Noah Grow has. He’s just trying to get a glimpse of a few elusive birds, including the wood duck. And avoid Coby, the really annoying school bully. But what starts as a quest for a bird sighting becomes something much, much more. This of this adventure of Hoot + Aliens and be prepared to laugh. [chapter book, ages 9 and up]

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BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.

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