The shortlists for the 2023 Joan Betty Stuchner — Oy Vey! — Funniest Children’s Book Award have been announced. Many funny books were entered for consideration. Below are the ones that tickled the jury’s funny bones the most.

Picture Book/Board Book Category

Crocodile Hungry, written by Eija Sumner, illustrated by John Martz (Tundra Books)

How to Party Like a Snail, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier (Owlkids Books)

How to Teach Your Cat a Trick: In Five Easy Steps, written by Nicola Winstanley, illustrated by Zoe Si (Tundra Books)

Quiet, Please!, written and illustrated by Russ Willms (Orca Book Publishers)

This Is a Dog Book!, written by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Julien Chung (Kids Can Press)

Chapter Book Category

Babble! And How Punctuation Saved It, written by Caroline Adderson, illustrated by Roman Muradov (Tundra Books)

Izzy’s Tail of Trouble, written by Caroline Adderson, illustrated by Kelly Collier (Kids Can Press)

Mad About Meatloaf, written by Maureen Fergus, illustrated by Alexandra Bye (Tundra Books)

Super Sleepover!, written and illustrated by Cale Atkinson (Tundra Books)

The Weird Sisters: A Note, a Goat, and a Casserole, written by Mark David Smith, illustrated by Kari Rust (Owlkids Books)

The jury included Sharon Freeman, Alan Woo and Ellen Schwartz. Winners will be announced at a Zoom Extravaganza on Frog Jumping Day (May 13, 2023) at 11 am PDT. Reserve your spot at jbs.oyvey.award@gmail.com.

About Joan Betty Stuchner
Joan Betty Stuchner was a children’s author who loved to make people laugh. She passed away unexpectedly in 2014. The Joan Betty Stuchner – Oy Vey! – Funniest Children’s Book Award honours her warm and generous spirit by encouraging authors and illustrators to keep her life-affirming humour alive.

For more information, please visit joanbettystuchneraward.org. The award committee is made up of Ellen Schwartz, Nathalie Patel, Sheri Radford, Cindy Heinrichs and Kathie Shoemaker.