Things That Are Most in the World

by Mike Ashley

Dodds shares Barrett's gift for taking abstract concepts—in this case, mathematical ideas—and making them wildly visual and funny through illustrations of increasingly absurd scenarios. Where Barrett asks 'what's the silliest thing?' Dodds asks 'what happens when you multiply chaos by itself?' and delivers the same kind of imaginative, giggle-inducing answers that stretch your brain sideways.

by Norton Juster

Published in 1961, this older gem shares Barrett's playful obsession with language and wordplay—puns, double meanings, and conceptual jokes that work on multiple levels. But where Barrett's book is quick snapshots of imaginative 'mosts,' Juster builds an entire world where a boy literally drives through the Kingdom of Wisdom encountering personified ideas. It's the same comedic sensibility stretched into a full adventure.

by Joyce Carol Oates

Here's the curveball: this is a middle-grade contemporary novel about a girl who discovers a hidden magical garden, but what makes it work for you is Marriott's approach to wonder itself. She captures that same sense of delighted discovery and the joy of encountering things that don't follow normal rules—a dragon eating pepperoni pizza has the same energy as stumbling upon impossible flowers that bloom backwards in time.

by Paul Geraghty

Two kids who are masters of pranks and ridiculous schemes team up, and the book reads like a series of escalating 'what's the silliest prank possible?' scenarios—which is essentially Barrett's question applied to mischief. The humor comes from the specificity and audacity of their ideas rather than relying on jokes, much like how 'an ice-skating snake' is funny because you can actually picture it.

by Jon Scieszka

Scieszka deconstructs fairy tales with the same irreverent, anything-goes spirit Barrett brings to superlatives—nothing is sacred, logic is optional, and the illustrations actively participate in the jokes. If you loved how Barrett's book feels like someone asked 'what if we just made the weirdest thing we could think of?' then Scieszka's willingness to break every rule of storytelling will feel like coming home.