A studio service
Joke books that look as funny as they read.
A joke book lives or dies on timing, and on the page timing is layout: where the punchline sits, what the cartoon gives away, how many jokes share a spread. We illustrate and design children's joke and riddle books for authors and publishers.
N° 01What goes in the book
Cartoons that set up the punchline.
01
Spot cartoons
Small illustrations that react to a joke without explaining it. The picture should add a second laugh, not repeat the first.
02
Chapter openers
A full-page cartoon for each section: animal jokes, school jokes, knock-knock jokes, riddles.
03
Readable type
Large, clear type with the setup and the punchline separated, so a child reading aloud gets the pause right.
04
Riddle answers
Answers upside down, at the foot of the page or overleaf, so the riddle is not spoiled at a glance.
05
Recurring characters
Two or three cartoon hosts who appear through the book and give it a personality.
06
Cover
A cover cartoon and title design that reads at thumbnail size, where most joke books are first seen.
N° 02The part that goes wrong
Where joke books lose the laugh.
01
The picture tells the punchline
A cartoon of the answer beside the question kills the joke. We draw the setup or the aftermath.
02
Walls of text
Ten jokes on a page with no art reads like a list. Spacing and spot art give each joke its moment.
03
Jokes that are not yours
Old jokes are widely shared, but copying another book's selection and wording is a risk. You confirm you have the right to publish the text you send.
04
Age fit
A pun that needs spelling knowledge will miss a six-year-old. We flag jokes that look wrong for the stated age so you can decide.
N° 03How it runs
Plan first, artwork after.
01
1. Page plan
You send the jokes, sorted or unsorted. We group them into chapters, plan how many sit on each page and mark which get a cartoon.
02
2. Sample pages
Two or three finished pages in the agreed look, so you approve the style and the difficulty before the rest is made.
03
3. Full interior
Every page produced to the plan, with answers or instructions where the format needs them, then one consolidated round of changes.
04
4. Cover and files
Cover design, front matter and print-ready files at your trim size, set to your printer's or platform's template.
N° 04Investment
Three ways to work together.
Single-format
From $1,600
A short themed joke book.
- Cover illustration and title design
- Up to 48 pages of your jokes, laid out
- Up to 12 spot cartoons
- Print-ready PDF
- 1 round of revisions
Signature
From $3,200
A full joke and riddle book with chapters.
- Cover illustration and title design
- Up to 96 pages laid out
- Up to 30 spot cartoons and 5 chapter openers
- Recurring cartoon hosts
- 2 rounds of revisions
- Social marketing pack
Series
From $7,000
A range by age or theme.
- 3+ titles
- Shared characters, palette and cover system
- Shared cartoon hosts across titles
- Full print files per title
- Series style guide
What every package includes, and what it does not
What you get
- Original artwork made for your book, with full commercial rights
- Editable source files as well as print-ready PDFs
- A written page plan agreed before artwork starts
- Files set to the template of the printer or platform you name
What we don’t do
- Printing, binding and shipping
- ISBNs, publishing account setup or marketing campaigns
- Licensed or trademarked characters
- Writing the jokes (you supply the text)
- Checking the text for copyright
Page counts above are caps. A longer book, extra revision rounds or a second language are quoted in writing before we start them.
N° 05Questions
The answers we give most often.
- Do you write the jokes?
- No. You supply the jokes and riddles and confirm you may publish them. We arrange, illustrate and design them, and flag any that look wrong for the age band.
- How many cartoons does a joke book need?
- Enough that every spread has something to look at. For most books that is one cartoon every two to four pages plus chapter openers. The count is fixed in the page plan.
- Black and white or colour?
- Most paperback joke books print with black and white interiors and a colour cover, which keeps the price low. Colour interiors are possible and cost more to print.
- Can it be printed through Amazon KDP?
- Yes. A joke book is a standard paperback, and we set the files to KDP's or another printer's template.
- Do I own the cartoons?
- Yes, with full commercial rights and the source files.
Start your book
Have a book like this in mind?
Tell us the audience, the page count and where it will be printed. You get a page plan and a fixed quote in writing.