Last weekend’s Primetime Emmy’s ushered in Awards Season for the television and film industries…or that period of time when many of us begin making lists of all the shows and movies we missed over the past year (and will now be checking out on DVD from the library,….right?).  But Award Season can be great for bibliophiles, as well, as a number of awards are currently in the process of selecting winners–which we will naturally be covering with great avidity.

But today, some sad news came out regarding a fairly unique, and meaningful award: the Roald Dahl Funny Prize is no more.  From 2008-2013, this prize was awarded by Booktrust, the largest reading charity in the UK, and Roald Daul’s literary estate. Two prizes were awarded yearly, one aimed at books for the six and under age group, the other for seven- to fourteen-year-olds, with a cash prize of £2500 for the winner of each category.

The prize was founded by then-Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen, who explained  “I wanted to put a special emphasis on reading for fun…funny books often get overlooked when it comes to prizes. It’s usually felt that they should reward serious books. My own view is that many funny books tackle serious issues in a funny way, and that being funny is one extremely good way to engage children’s interest in reading.”  It certainly seemed that Rosen was right; some 900 children served as readers for the award, which, in it’s five years of existence, celebrated nearly 90 authors and illustrators.  Needless to say, those authors and illustrators enjoyed a great deal of well-deserved praise and press for their hard (but funny) work.

Because the truth of the matter is that writing for children, in any capacity, is no easy feat.  Dahl was one of those authors who made the process look easy, but behind his larger-than-life characters and fantastical plots is a beautiful balancing act that is exceptionally difficult to maintain.  On the one hand, Dahl was able to treat children like the thinking, feeling, rational beings that they are; he doesn’t patronize, and he doesn’t pander.  At the same time, he also distilled all the awful, scary, overwhelming people and themes in this works into something that they could understand, absorb, and, ultimately, enjoy.  And in giving children (and adults) the space to laugh at the things that scare or overwhelm them is one of the best ways to help them through the tough times.  It’s also pretty brave–humor implies a shared understanding and a shared experience, meaning that writers have to tap into something inherent in the world of children that adults may not be able to access with their big, compartmentalized brains. It is that remarkable talent that the Roald Dahl Prize was created to celebrate.

But yesterday, after having suspending the award for a year, the Roald Dahl Estate announced that the award, as it has been known, has, has ended.  The Roald Dahl Estate has assured people that it will be back (in some form) for Dahl’s Centenary next year, but Rosen himself has used the announcement to start a pretty interesting discussion about the presence of humor in children’s books.  “We demand space for reading for pleasure,” he tweeted, “but we need to acclaim all books which enable children to do it, including #funnychildrensbooks”.  Later, he queried,  “On the national curriculum documents about Reading, so the words ‘laugh’, ‘smile’, ‘grin’, ‘jokes’ appear anywhere?”

So, in honor of laughing, especially when it hurts, here are some past winners of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, in the hopes that they will bring a little mirth to a person–young or old–near you.

2013:

Six and Under: The Peanut by Simon Rickerty (published in the UK as Monkey Nut): Is it a hat? Or a boat? Or a drum? Whatever it is, everyone wants it – and they DON’T want to share! One little monkey nut causes big trouble in this bright, funny and original book.

Seven to Fourteen: I Am Still Not A Loser by Jim Smith: Barry has a new problem: Gordon Smugly—who has the most perfect name for himself ever in the history of having a name, because he looks like a Gordon and is smug and ugly—has stolen Barry’s best friend. Join Barry as he attempts to get Bunky back, organizes a girly-screamvoice test, and tries to avoid seeing his teacher kissing his grandma.

2012:

Six and Under: My No, No, No Day! by Rebecca Patterson (published in the UK as My Big Shouting Day!): After having a day in which nothing is right, tired Bella cuddles with her mother and talks about having a more cheerful day tomorrow.