Following the launch of Aliens Invaded My Talent Show! (you can read our review here) we are delighted to host a guest post from author Matt Brown.

In this blog post, Matt tells us about some of his own favourite funny books.

My new book, Aliens Invaded My Talent Show!, is what is known in the publishing trade as “a funny, middle grade book”. In fact, there are some who whisper that it might be THE funniest middle grade book OF ALL TIME. That’s not for me to say. What I will say though is that if you’re thinking to yourself, “Wait, what does ‘middle grade’ mean?”, then ‘middle grade’ is a phrase of, I think, American origin and means ‘suitable for kids aged roughly between 7 and 12’. Okay, so now that everyone is up-to-speed, then I’ll begin.

Disclaimer: Even though I loved reading Roald Dahl’s books when I was younger I haven’t included any here. Well, I mean, you already know which ones you love of his, don’t you?

Disclaimer No. 3: There is no Disclaimer No. 2

Disclaimer No. 4: These are my top five funny books as of right now. Ask me tomorrow and you might get five different ones. I’m afraid I’m like that.

Disclaimer No. 5: This top five list has no particular ranking system. I love them all equally.

Disclaimer No.6: No. No, it’s gone. Sorry, I’ve completely forgotten what I was going to say. I’m sure I’ll think of it later.

Throughout my life I have loved reading (and watching) funny stories. A funny plot, or character, or bit of dialogue is a jewel to be treasured. But as well as making you laugh, funny books can tackle difficult emotional subject matter too. As Neil Gaiman so wisely observed, “the opposite of ‘funny’ isn’t ‘serious’, the opposite of ‘funny’ is ‘not funny’”. Quite right. If you don’t believe me/Neil Gaiman then just read the way the Secret Diary of Adrian Mole deals with the impact of divorce on a teenager. It’ll break your heart. So, with that in mind, here are my top 5 fave funny middle grade books.