Reading Is Funny Day

If you have ever tried and failed at getting your child to put down the video games and pick up a book, this might be the day for you! Reading is Funny Day aims to show children that reading can be just as fun as more modern entertainment, whether it be with jokes, riddles, or funny stories.

Learn about Reading Is Funny Day

Reading Is Funny Day has been created for the purpose of showing young readers that reading a book can be just as enjoyable and entertaining as other forms of entertainment, for instance, playing a video game or watching the television. In order to ensure that books are as appealing as possible to younger children, this day focuses on books that are funny. Good examples include books of riddles, comedy books, and joke books.

A lot of parents experience the struggle to trying to get their children away from the computer screen. This is only becoming more and more difficult, as computers become more popular and ingrained in everyday life. However, you want your child to have varied forms of entertainment, and that’s why Reading is Funny Day is important. It gives you the perfect opportunity to pry your child away from the computer and to get them to embrace another form of enjoyment. By making them laugh and showing them how fun books can be, you can encourage your child to read books throughout the year.

History of Reading Is Funny Day

In order to understand the history of Reading Is Funny Day, we need to understand the history of a joke. We are sure you have heard plenty of jokes throughout your life, some good and some bad! From riddles to knock-knock jokes, there are certain formats that stick with us and give us the basis for a good joke. We’re sure you have heard plenty of jokes that ask why a chicken (or any other type of animal) crossed the road!

The oldest joke that has been saved is an ancient Sumerian proverb, which comes from 1900 BC. The second oldest can be dated to 1600 BC and it comes from the ancient Egyptians. This shows that throughout the ages, and no matter the differences in our cultures and way of life, one thing that we have enjoyed doing for as long as time is having a good laugh! You may be wondering what sort of jokes the ancient Egyptians found funny. Well, the joke from 1600 BC is as follows:

“How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish”.

This joke was found scrolled onto papyrus and it is thought to be a dig at the Pharoah that was in charge at the time!

It was not until the 4th or 5th century AD that we started to see collections of jokes. What is so fascinating is that we still use a lot of these jokes today, such as those referring to people with bad breath and the absent-minded professor. At the time, the book was intended so that you could read it and then repeat the joke whenever the opportunity came about.

When the printing press was invented in the 15th century, you probably already know that one of the first books to be printed was the Bible. But did you know that one of the other first books to be printed was the collection of jokes we’ve just referred to?

It did not take long for joke books to take off either. Their popularity has been unquestioned ever since. In fact, one joke book that was released in 1470 was so popular that there were roughly 20 editions of the book generated in the 15th century alone! There are many books today that don’t get anywhere close to having 20 editions published!

Joke books today are still as popular as they ever have been. The way that they are consumed may be different, as a lot of people read online content and e-books, yet it’s unlikely we will ever see the day whereby jokes aren’t popular. Who would want to live in such a dull world?

How to celebrate Reading Is Funny Day

Take the opportunity on this day to show your children how fun reading can be. Download riddles from the internet to get your children engaged, go to the local library to check out a few funny books, or even spend the day making up funny stories of your own! Setting this day aside to concentrate on having fun reading can be a real eye-opener to the children of today and may even encourage them to start to read on their own on other days of the year!

The main purpose of Reading Is Funny Day is to introduce your children to the joy of reading, so that’s what your main goal should be. There are many different ways that you can go about this. You could purchase some children’s books in preparation for the day. Alternatively, you could go to the library together and pick out some funny books. This is a great way to spend some time together and it gives your child the chance to explore the sort of books they like.

You and your little one could also try to make your own book on Reading Is Funny Day. This is a great activity to enjoy on this day, and it will help to progress your child’s development as well. Plus, we are sure it is the sort of activity that your little one is going to get excited about. You can find lots of different examples of activities like this online if you’re looking for a fun way to engage your child and teach them about the value of a good book.

If you’re wondering where to start when it comes to funny books for kids, there are lots of great suggestions out there! I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black is a good choice! It is a book about confronting the age-old child mantra “I’m bored.” In this book, a bored little girl is excited to meet a talking potato, that is until the potato declares that he finds children boring! The book follows the girl trying to change his mind, and it is assured to make both you and your child laugh. We would also highly recommend Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein. In this book, a little chicken wants her dad to read her a bedtime story. However, she keeps interrupting the book at every opportunity because she can’t bear that her beloved fairy tale characters continue to make errors! The book shows that children being an active participant in storytelling can be very funny and exciting too.

Whatever you do on Reading is Funny Day, make sure it’s fun! Let us know if you read any books that get you and your little one in fits of giggles!