The Wonky Donkey

Product Information

Watching Janice read and laugh was just delightful, and like many, her infectious laugh had me laughing too,” said Smith.

Wonky Donkey - Wikipedia The Wonky Donkey - Wikipedia

I mean, I read the rest of the book, but I was distracted, thinking about how little kids could potentially develop a debilitating fear about birds swooping down and plucking out their eyes. He is working on turning more of his kid’s songs into books with a CD of the songs included in the future. It is illustrated by British-born Katz Cowley, who has a degree in Illustration from the University of Northumbria.

I thought this would be one of those tongue twister stories to get kids laughing, but I definitely won't be reading it to my class. The lack of commas makes me a little nutso, but I could see using this as a springboard for a silly phonics lesson. So I jumped on the bandwagon and got this for my boys after seeing the video of the hilarious Scottish granny reading it to her grandson: https://www. It has unusual illustrations and the story is simple, using snappy rhyming words to describe the donkey's many defects, beginning with the fact that he has three legs and is thus a 'wonky donkey'. The book is written a bit like "The 12 Days of Christmas" where everything that goes before is repeated on each subsequent page with one phrase added.

Wonky Donkey - Scottish laughing Grandma! (from UNILAD) The Wonky Donkey - Scottish laughing Grandma! (from UNILAD)

Cowley said that while The Wonky Donkey has been a household name in Australia and New Zealand since it was first published in 2009, the book had been only “an underground success” in the UK. A home video of a Scottish grandmother’s uncontrollable giggles while reading The Wonky Donkey picture book to her baby grandson have sent book lovers around the world rushing to get their hands on a copy, with publishers left scrambling to meet demand. The little bird that is following him takes up the story and at each turn adds one of the phrases to his description, for example one morning he gets up and does not have his coffee so 'cranky' is added to the descriptive list. New Zealander Craig Smith’s children’s book, based on Smith’s song of the same name, tells of a three-legged – or wonky – donkey, adding a new adjective every few pages until it ends with a “spunky, hanky-panky cranky stinky dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey”. In 2010 a schoolteacher alleged that Smith had heavily based the book on several internet jokes and had not referenced this in his work.I must confess I am at a loss to understand how 'The Wonky Donkey' became 'The laugh-out-loud, bestselling book that's a viral internet sensation!

Wonky Donkey Series by Craig Smith - Goodreads

Smith told the Guardian that demand had “gone through the roof” for the picture book since the video of Clark took off: in New Zealand, his publisher is “rushing to print another 50,000 copies, with a view for more”, while The Wonky Donkey is now also being reprinted in the UK. In this very funny, cumulative song, each page tells us something new about the donkey until we end up with a spunky, hanky-panky cranky stinky dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey, which will have children in fits of laughter! When writing songs for the adult arena, Craig couldn't escape his childish side and was soon writing songs for non-grown-ups. The bird plucking the donkey's eye out was weird and a little bit disturbing considering this is supposed to be a children's book. Story makes little sense, but all littles were highly satisfied, with requests for repeat reads in future.I didn't end up reading this to my daughters because the donkey illustrations were creepy and a little crude. So he could've only had one eye; there's no reason we had to see the bird carrying the eyeball away! The video is a fantastic demonstration that the best picture books entertain the whole family, not just the kids,” said Layfield.