Thank you to all of you who (metaphorically) rushed out and bought a copy of my new book, Jamie and the Joke Factory, at the first opportunity. It is so gratifying to see the sales coming through from Amazon almost as soon as the book was published, and I really appreciate your support.

For anyone who hasn’t already heard about it, Jamie and the Joke Factory is a slightly crazy combination of picture book and joke book (making it a bargain two-for-the-price-of-one stocking filler!) It tells the story of a little boy called Jamie, and his surprise day out at the joke factory.

You haven’t heard of a joke factory? Well neither had Jamie, but jokes have to be made somewhere, and a joke factory (logically) is the place they are made.

(Actually, when I read the book to a group of 4, 5 and 6 year olds recently, one of the boys claimed he’d not only heard of a joke factory, but he’d visited one! So maybe, after all, you have too?)

Anyway, the story follows Jamie and Grandad as they watch ‘doctor, doctor’ jokes; ‘I say, I say, I say’ jokes; ‘knock, knock’ jokes; and puns role off the production line, guided by the factory owner, Billy Bonkers. Any resemblance to Willy Wonka is not entirely coincidental, but though Jamie and the Joke Factory pays a small homage to Roald Dahl’s wonderful Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, they are quite different books.

Jamie and the Joke Factory is picture book, where the pictures tell the story as much as the words and the visual gags are as important as the written ones. The book is stuffed full of word- and picture-based jokes, which I hope extends the appeal of the picture book to slightly older children and even reluctant readers.

But please let me know what you think. And if you like it, please consider posting a review on Amazon too. Thank you!

Jamie and the Joke Factory, is available to BUY NOW from Amazon, price £6.99.