Best books… Liz Pichon

The bestselling children’s author and illustrator of the Tom Gates series picks her favourite funny books. Her own latest, You Can Draw Tom Gates with Liz Pichon, is published by Scholastic at £6.99

The Stinky Cheese Man and

Other Fairly Stupid Tales by

Jon Scieszka, 1992 (Puffin £7.99). I love everything about this book, in which famous fairy tales are retold with a deliciously dark twist. There’s a surprise on every page and Lane Smith’s illustrations are genius. The very ugly duckling growing up to be… just a really ugly duck makes me laugh every time. It’s a really satisfying page-turner.

The Secret Diary of Adrian

Mole Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend, 1982 (Penguin £7.99). I saw a documentary on Sue Townsend and it made me love her and the book even more. She didn’t show anyone her work for years, just wrote every day and then put the manuscript away. The book changed her life and I can identify with that. It’s such a brilliantly observed, funny and timeless classic. Every sentence is so carefully crafted and hilarious in every detail.

Just William by Richmal Crompton, 1922 (Macmillan £7.99). I reread Just William when I was asked to illustrate a cover for the book. I’d forgotten how funny it is. I love how William casually causes chaos while always feeling indignant and hard done by.

Dr Dog by Babette Cole, 1994 (Red Fox £7.99). All her picture books are hilarious, but

Dr Dog is one of my favourites. Poor Dr Dog is run ragged by the Gumboyle family who won’t look after themselves and keep getting sick. When Granddad’s dangerous gasses start to build up due to beer and beans, you know it’s not going to end well!

The Bad Speller by William Steig, 1970 (out of print). An American friend of my mum gave me this book because she knew I struggled with spelling. She thought it would make me laugh (it did). Each page has a black and white illustration with a caption underneath written phonetically: “Anamills perfourming a difiklt feet.” Half the fun is working out what they are saying.