It is a well known fact that the things that make small children shriek with laughter all too often make their accompanying adults groan (especially if it's a knock knock joke). But some books make everyone giggle - and if it's Giggle Bugs by David A Carter (Simon and Schuster, £6.99), the book will even giggle for you.
Read the joke (and there are some stunningly good ones as well as the awesomely dreadful ones), press the button - and Abracadabra! - instant electronic hilarity.
If you prefer to make up your own jokes, try Buzz Buzz Bumble Jelly (Scholastic, £9.99). Nick Sharratt's clear bright pictures in zinging colours are instantly recognisable by even the smallest reader (Miaow! A tabby cat; Yippee! A wibbly wobbly jelly), but the real fun starts with the split pages. You can mix and match the top and bottom halves into all sorts of rib tickling combinations.
Shark-Mad Stanley (ticktock publishing, £9.99) by Griff is even more educational because it tells you a lot about sharks - but it is also one of the funniest books I've read in ages.
The stylish illustrations are a delight, and the information is delivered with wonderfully deadpan humour - "Brain: A small brain leaves more room for teeth. Teeth: Some sharks have rows and rows of teeth, just in case some fall out." And there's a wealth of witty detail in the pictures - check out the ingredients in the Shark Food advertisement. Oh - and there's a free CD, too.
There aren't any fish in Farmer Brown Goes Round and Round (Dorling Kindersley, £9.99), but there are loads of farm animals in a whirlwind story of mixed identities. "His cows oinked, The pigs moo'd, His sheep clucked, The cat coo'd."
If you think you've heard this idea before think again; this is the best version, and there's a neat twist in the tail. Teri Sloat writes glorious read aloud rhyme, and Nadine Bernard Westcott deserves to be much better known. Her animals (especially when wearing Farmer Brown's checked underwear) kept all my testers in hysterics all the way through the story.
So did Charlie the Chicken, a pop-up book for the very young (although I noticed older siblings cackling away merrily as well.) The words - minimal, but just right - are by Nick Denchfield, and the pictures of Charlie's big fat tummy and great big feet are by Ant Parker.
It's a splendid example of how something very simple can also be very funny - and good enough to stand a lot of repetition. After the first reading there were squeals of delight at the anticipation of the big fold out at the end of the book - a great introduction to the excitement to be found in literature! (Macmillan, £5.99).
And, finally, there is A Squash and a Squeeze (Mammoth, £4.99). First published in 1993, Julia Donaldson's rhyming version of an old folk tale has become a bit of a classic. Axel Scheffler's illustrations of the little old lady who thinks her house is too small make children laugh from the front cover on, and the chaos caused by the animals when they are invited into the house is almost too much for toddlers who are constantly exhorted to Tidy Up.
A goat on the bed and a cow on the table tapping out a jig? My readers collapsed in heaps, and then had to have it read again. And again.
• All books above are available at a discount from the CultureShop on 0800 3166 102 or by sending a cheque to Guardian CultureShop, 250 Western Avenue, London W3 6EE. Prices are as follows: Giggle Bugs, £4.99; Buzz Buzz Bumble Jelly, £7.99; Shark-Mad Stanley, £7.99; Farmer Brown Goes Round and Round, £7.99; Charlie the Chicken, £4.99; A Squash and a Squeeze, £4.00. Add 99p p&p per order.
