April Fool's Day, also known as All Fool's Day, is celebrated on April 1st every year in many countries around the world. This day is known for playing practical jokes and hoaxes on friends, family members, and coworkers. The origins of this day are not clear, but it is believed to have started in the 16th century when the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar. Those who continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1st were called fools and were often the target of pranks and jokes.
In many countries, April Fool's Day is celebrated by playing harmless pranks and jokes on others. Common pranks include putting fake spiders or bugs in someone's bed, switching sugar with salt, or sending someone on a wild goose chase.
It is important to remember that April Fool's Day is all in good fun and should not be used to intentionally harm or embarrass others. It is a time to let loose and have a good laugh with friends and family. So, get creative and come up with your best prank yet!
If you’re looking for something fun to read on April Fool’s Day, look no further! On this page, we’ve collected some of Next Chapter’s books that are sure to put a smile on your face :) If you like any of the books below, please take a moment to leave the author a review :) Don’t agree with our choices? Please leave a comment and let us know which book is your favorite!
Books featured on this page
The Pratts Go To London (The Pratts Series Book 1) by Peter Wunderlich
The Congregation (Skeletons in the Cupboard Series Book 3) by A.J. Griffiths-Jones
Wherewolf (Skullenia Book 1) by Tony Lewis
Mistaken Identity Crisis (Braxton Campus Mysteries Book 4) by James J. Cudney
The Pratts Go To London (The Pratts Series Book 1) by Peter Wunderlich
Book excerpt
The letters lay haphazardly in the hallway in anticipation of being opened. A spooky stillness seemed to hang over the scene, as though awaiting an impending disaster.
Suddenly, a green mist began to emanate from one of the envelopes, like a cartoon fart, and an elephant’s trunk slowly snaked its way out, like a turd from a constipated bum. The trunk was soon followed by a set of gleaming ivory tushes. Then its head, body, and legs. And so there, in the hallway of number two High Avenue, stood a fluffy pink Asian cow elephant, its trunk sniffing the air as it looked around the dimly lit hall, before entering the lounge.
It was a pretty standard sort of council house room. Brick surround fireplace with a gas fire at its centre. Magnolia paint on the walls, with the customary charity shop picture here and there. A fifty-inch television and Sky box stood in one corner and a three-piece well-worn leather suite opposite. A coffee table, with two clean empty ashtrays and a piggy bank, sat as a reminder that the residents of this fine abode, had given up smoking and could now afford a few luxuries. The table was also covered in magazines and newspapers, all waiting in front of the google box in anticipation of another day of viewing a multitude of crap.
Against one wall a flimsy MDF dresser stood, covered in ornaments, DVD’S and CD’s. Whilst standing opposite, an ancient hi-fi system, with three disk CD changer and dual cassettes, hummed melancholically, as it stood in standby mode.
The Congregation (Skeletons in the Cupboard Series Book 3) by A.J. Griffiths-Jones
Book excerpt
The following day, after a long night of tossing and turning, Archie awoke to the sound of soft purring. With all the distraction of his predecessor's journal the day before, he had forgotten to ask Mrs. Fry about the strange cat that now occupied a large portion of his bed. Still, it was a comfort to have him there.
After a long hot bath, having now had instruction on how to work the heating system, Archie pulled a thick navy sweater over his clergyman's shirt and ventured downstairs with the cat running along in front. The house was dark and eerie at first light, casting shadows in the passageways, and he couldn't help wondering about the people who had filled these rooms years before. He had read a little history about the town and its mining industry, and the church was of course well documented but nothing much had been recorded about the vicarage itself. Archie intended to find out, but firstly he must take his first steps inside what was to be his new place of work and worship. And so, after a hurried slice of toast and cup of tea, the vicar fed the black feline and wrapped himself up in his heavy woollen coat and scarf.
Wherewolf (Skullenia Book 1) by Tony Lewis
Book excerpt
Some time after the marines headed out on their perilous mission, Mrs. Ladle was wandering around the town square cursing, muttering to herself and generally using language that is far too bawdy to be repeated here (I'm sure you wouldn't really mind to be fair but my mum will read this as well and I don't want to get told off for being rude. I'm forty nine now and I'd look rather silly sitting on the naughty stair, especially when dad's already there because mum's caught him smoking in the greenhouse again. It wouldn't have been so bad but they were visiting Kew Gardens at the time and he burnt an orchid that bloomed so rarely, the last person to see it's petals had been King Henry VIII and maps still had 'here be monsters' written on them, although that still holds true today for some villages in the north of England.)
She was having trouble with the Aeronautical Dynamics of her Pre-Industrial Revolution Floatation Device. To the layman and those of you who don’t understand management speak, in that you're not a manager and therefore quite sensible, her broomstick wouldn’t fly. She’d tried everything from white magic to black magic, all colours of the rainbow magic, colours that hadn't been invented yet magic and everything in between. She'd even attempted a little bit of beige magic, which was usually so weak that it would normally struggle to turn a newly retired couple into members of the Caravan Club. She’d tried casting various spells, drawn elaborate runes and pentagrams on every available surface, mixed various potions and finally resorted to chucking the damn thing into the air in the vain hope that it would stay there. Lastly, and somewhat desperately, she’d dived off the Town Hall roof in an attempt to jump start it, but this had only resulted in an unfortunate head-on meeting with Bill the Coachman’s horses. Disheartened, she unscrewed the cap at the top of the handle and checked inside. As she thought there was plenty of flight powder in there and it was nice and dry. She had to admit to being at a bit of a loss. It was at that moment that Ronnie and Flug came round the corner and saw her predicament.
Mistaken Identity Crisis (Braxton Campus Mysteries Book 4) by James J. Cudney
Book excerpt
Ten minutes later, I opened my front door to the sound of three distinct laughs. Nana D's garrulous and all-encompassing guffaw, Cecilia's pompous and high-pitched chortle, and Vincenzo's single grunt resembling a snorting pig searching for food in his empty trough. “You're extremely early,” I said, tossing my keys on a nearby table. “What's so funny?”
Vincenzo's shiny bald head seemed to grow exponentially as he aged, and the salt-and-pepper goatee that insisted upon clinging to his chin in despair left me embarrassed for him. Nonetheless, his eerily calm tone and menacing, stocky body shape frightened most people to no end, including me. “I've missed this face. Hopefully, we can keep it this way. You need to visit more often, especially once everything is back to normal.” He immediately greeted me with a big hug, then kissed both my cheeks.
Hmmm… had I entered The Twilight Zone? When he pulled away, I felt his fingerprints still etched into my back and shoulders. “I trust you had a safe flight.” I directed my gaze at him, then turned to Cecilia. She stared at me coldly and offered no embrace, which was a relief after Vincenzo's salutation. Cecilia, willowy and gaunt, though pretty in the right light with her striking blonde coiffure, matched her husband in height. Neither had ever needed a stepstool to change a lightbulb in a ceiling fixture, not that they'd deign to do that kind of chore themselves.
Jake and the Nefarious Glub by G.A. Franks
Book excerpt
When they got home, Jake hurtled up the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him. He dashed into his room, slammed the door shut and threw the pile of books on the bed. ‘Are you okay dear?’ mum called up the stairs. ‘You didn’t say a word all the way back.’
‘I’m fine!’ Jake called down. ‘I’m just…erm…keen to get reading!’ He wasn’t at all keen to get reading, but he knew it was what mum wanted to hear and it would buy him some time to think about what had just happened.
‘Okay, but don’t overdo it and give yourself a headache.’
‘Sure, okay, I won’t.’ Jake eyed the books; he just couldn’t understand how they had come to be in his hands. He didn’t remember choosing them at all, and from the looks of them, they weren’t the type of books he would have picked in a million years. Or even a billion, or even a zillion! He cautiously picked up the first book and ran his hands over the wrinkled see through protector. Underneath, the cover was faded, as though the book had sat in a shop window for years. The picture on the front was of a blonde boy wearing a chunky knit, pale blue turtleneck jumper. He was holding his hands up to his ruddy cheeks, with a badly drawn expression of fear on his face. Behind him loomed a skinny creature dressed in rags with pale green skin, long greasy hair and a knobbly wooden club clutched in its bony fingers. The title of the book was written in a cheesy font that Jake presumed was meant to look scary, it was called ‘The Curse of the Bog Troll’ by Reginald Ochre. A quick flip through revealed that there were a few pictures dotted throughout the book. Not the beautifully drawn, action packed scenes like in his graphic novels, but simple line sketches that looked like they had been thrown together as an afterthought. He gave a harrumph and tossed the book aside, it landed in a heap somewhere in his smelly pants and socks corner. He didn’t bother to check where.
There you go: the best books to read on April Fool’s Day this year. We hope you enjoy the stories - and if you do, please leave a comment below, or a review in Goodreads or your favorite store. We’d love to hear from you!
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