Mr. Pusskins, Grubtown Tales win Dahl Funny Prize

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A tale about a grumpy but loveable cat and a story recounting the madcap adventures of a town of oddballs were the winners of this year's Roald Dahl Funny Prize announced at a ceremony in London on Tuesday.

"Mr. Pusskins Best in Show" by Sam Lloyd won the prize named after much-loved British children's author Dahl in the category for six-year-olds and younger, while "Grubtown Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky" by Philip Ardagh and illustrated by Jim Paillot won the award in the seven- to 14-year-old category.

A grumpy but loveable cat, Mr. Pusskins is determined to lay his paws on the trophy for Best-Looking Pet at a beauty show, but ends up being deceived by a cunning poodle.

But all's well that ends well for the plucky feline who still makes his loving owner proud by inadvertently performing extraordinary feats of talent to win another award.

"Mr. Pusskins is a cat who could turn into a catastrophe but instead, he's a champ," said author and poet Michael Rosen, the chair of the judges for the prize.

"Even though he heads for the toilet instead of the cat-show, and even though he doesn't realize he's whizzing through an obstacle race, he ends up being the winner."

Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky tells the story of Grubtown, whose eccentric residents plot to rid the town of the repulsive Manual Org.

The judging panel was comprised of Rosen, comedian Bill Bailey, author and illustrator Minnie Grey and Andy Stanton, one of the winners of the 2008 Funny Prize.

The winners were given a check for 2,500 pounds ($4,165) and a bottle of wine from Dahl's wine cellar.

(Reporting by Simon Falush)