Books to read aloud, like Mr Gum?

[Merrow]

DS1 is ill and all he wants is to be read to. We're currently getting through a Mr Gum book every two days, and I'll need something to move on to! He's only 4 so I feel like a lot of the humour of Mr Gum must be passing him by, but I can't deny he's really enjoying it. Things he likes are: the silly language (his current favourite bit is "giggling like a packed lunch"), that there's pictures and that there's villains. I like that it's actually fun for me to read and that it's a series so I don't have to think about the next book to choose!

Any recommendations? Key is that it's not something that will send me into fits of despair if I am reading it for hours on end.

Mr Gum is pretty unique and it's tricky to think of something the same ... my son is a bit older now but you may want to try The Bolds (by Julian Clary, a series about a family of hyenas living as humans), The Beast and the Bethany (a trilogy about an evil beast that vomits up anything the man asks for, for a price), or the Baby Aliens books (by Pamela Butchart, about a group of 9-ish year olds who keep thinking there are supernatural things happening in school - sample titles: Baby Aliens Got My Teacher, My Head Teacher Is A Vampire Rat, There's a Yeti In the Playground).

Thank you, I've reserved those at the library to give them a shot!

Awww DS loved the Mr Gum books,although he was a bit older

I’m sorry but there’s nothing as good as mr gum!
for a little one the ‘oí frog’ ones are quite funny but much shorter picture books
My massive mr gum fan also likes how to train your dragon but he’s a bit older

How annoying that we went straight to the pinnacle of the genre! It has been fun though, I just hoped that there had been an explosion of great wacky literature aimed at the roughly 5s that I wasn't aware of.

@Holidaysay the length is definitely essential - partly because I think making him feel a bit grown up is part of his enjoyment, mainly that I'm reading something new to me! I'll have a look at the how to train your dragon ones, thank you.

The Rabbit and Bear series is great and funny. Possibly a step before Mr Gum, mind. Mine loved them at 4 and then read them herself, then moved on to Mr Gum.
Otherwise the 13 storey treehouse type books - though they are much more visual so better to read yourself.

Actually, Pippi Longstocking is probably the most similar to Mr Gum in terms of absurdity?? We have a lovely large print version illustrated by Lauren Childs (Charlie and Lola).

How to Train Your Dragon are a good shout too.

Also it's very short (picture book length) but the Book With No Pictures (or This Book Has No Pictures?) by BJ Novack might be good.

I know he's enjoying being read to and you absolutely should read things that he can't manage himself yet but don't be tempted to skip straight to books which are too grown up. (I have teens/pre-teens, one of whom was a very advanced reader, I miss the days of silly picture books that we all knew by heart!)

Pippi longstocking could work, and I have a copy kicking around somewhere from my childhood! I've read a fair few "classics" to him, like Gobbolino and the Magic Faraway Tree, but I feel a bit lost when it comes to newer ones that are actually good rather than aimed at a child's interest but utter drivel.

@CocoPlum don't worry, we still have all our picture books in rotation! I think it's primarily his recently illness that has led to the chapter book interest - we always do a lot of reading but I think when it was for hours at a time he wanted something new and engaging because he wasn't ill enough to sleep but was ill enough that he really didn't have the energy for something active. We have (and he loves!) The Book With No Pictures.

Ahh that's fair! I didn't want to discourage you, I just want you to enjoy him being little!

When he's older, the Andy Stanton book Natboff is ... ridiculous. Definitely not for him now as even my 9yo (at the time) didn't really get the unusual structure but we still cry laughing at the title story!