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Helen Rutter

Can you write a joke that will make author Helen Rutter laugh out loud?

To celebrate The Funniest Boy in the World written by bestselling children's author Helen Rutter – packed with brilliant jokes and one-liners to make kids roar with laughter – we gave young readers the chance to win a signed book bundle, £100 worth of funny books, plus their name in lights!

Billy Plimpton took to the stage and captivated the crowd at the triumphant ending to The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, and in the sequel, he's going to go viral. National Book Tokens and Helen Rutter challenged kids aged 13 and under to submit their own joke (via a parent or guardian!) in less than 30 words – and make Helen roar with laughter!

An example of two hilarious jokes from the book:

'What happened when the tiger ate the comedian? He felt funny.'

'Why did the egg get thrown out of class? Because it kept telling yolks.'

The writer of the winning joke will receive:

  • Signed sets of books by Helen Rutter: The Funniest Boy in the World, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, and The Boy Whose Wishes Came True
  • £100 worth of funny books from Scholastic 
  • A personalised neon name sign

5 runners-up will receive a copy of all three books. 

The winners were chosen by Helen Rutter and announced below.

 

Announcing the winner and runners-up...

 

We're delighted to announce that the winner and runners-up are...

 

WINNER

What are a frogs favourite type of shoes? Open toad. - Zachary M, age 10, UK


RUNNERS-UP

What do you call an elephant that doesn't matter? An irrelephant! - Lewis M, age 10, Ireland

Teacher: Your grades have been extremely average this term. Pupil: That's a very MEAN thing to say. - China W, age 9, UK

My Mum gets mad at me for being lazy. It's not fair. It's not like I did anything. - Oisin C, age 9, Ireland

Knock Knock, Who's there? Smell map Smell map who? That's gross. - Milo F, age 10, UK

The boy in class chewed his chocolate bar really loudly, yelling "YUM, YUM!", The teacher was getting frustrated at the noise so I told him "Shh! You've gotta Wispa!" - Aida K, age 9, UK

 

Thank you to everyone who sent in their jokes!

 

Terms and Conditions

1 x winner will receive

  • A signed set of books by Helen Rutter: The Funniest Boy in the World, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, and The Boy Whose Wishes Came True
  • £100 worth of funny books from Scholastic 
  • A personalised neon name sign

5 x runners-up will receive a copy of Helen Rutter's The Funniest Boy in the World, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, and The Boy Whose Wishes Came True

  • By entering this competition, you also agree to the National Book Tokens Website Terms and Conditions.
  • If you choose to opt-in to receive emails from us, you also agree to the Caboodle Terms and Conditions and Caboodle Points Terms and Conditions.
  • Closing date: 11:59pm, Thursday 9th February 2023.
  • No purchase necessary.
  • Only only entry per child will be accepted. The child may not win more than one prize.
  • The adult submitting the child's entry must be aged 18 or over. The child must be aged 13 or younger at the time of entry.
  • The adult may enter on behalf of more than one child by completing each entry form separately. 
  • The adult must be the child's parent, family member, or guardian. The competition may not be entered by the child's educational institute. 
  • The entry must be submitted via the form on the website. No other routes of entry will be accepted. 
  • The entry must be a maximum of 30 words.
  • The entry must be written by the named child and be an original work.
  • The competition is open to UK and Republic of Ireland residents except employees of the Booksellers Association and Book Tokens Ltd., their families, employees of participating bookshops, and anyone else connected with this promotion.
  • The Promoter accepts no responsibility for entries that are incomplete, illegible, incorrect, corrupted or fail to reach the Promoter by the closing date for any reason. Automatically generated entries or entries via third parties are invalid and shall not be considered.
  • The Promoter is unable to confirm receipt of entries and no correspondence will entered into. 
  • Entrants agree to the Promoter using their details, and their child's details, in post-competition publicity. The details will not be used for any other purpose, or passed onto any third parties, unless specified. Winners’ details may be shared securely with a third party (such as the publisher) in order to fulfil the dispatch of competition prizes.
  • The prizes are non-transferable and there are no cash alternatives, and are subject to availability. The Promoter reserves the right to amend the specification of the prize or offer an alternative prize. In exceptional circumstances, the Promoter reserves the right to foreclose the competition without notice.
  • If National Book Tokens gift cards or e-Gift cards, or Bookily cards are included in the prize, they can be spent in participating bookshops. Find out more.
  • If signed copies are included in the prize, books will either be signed directly by the author/illustrator(s) or signed bookplates will be provided (either separately or stuck in the book).
  • The Promoter will choose a shortlist of 30 entries from all qualifying entries. These 30 entries will be sent to Helen Rutter, who will select the winner and runners-up. 
  • The Promoter will contact winners by email in February. In the event of a winner not responding after 14 days, the Promoter reserves the right to allocate the prize to another winner, or foreclose the prize. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.
  • The Promoter accepts no responsibility for winners not receiving the Promoter’s communications due to their spam filter, accidental deletion, incorrect email provided, or for any other reason. In the event of this, the Promoter is unable to provide compensation.
  • The Promoter accepts no responsibility for winners not receiving their prize once it has been dispatched. On a case-by-case basis, the Promoter will do their best to compensate the winner but regretfully this may not always be possible.
  • The Promoter’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  • The Promoter will only use your email address and other personal information as outlined in our privacy policy.
  • Promoter: Book Tokens Ltd, 6 Bell Yard, London, WC2A 2JR.
  • Due to the ongoing pandemic (COVID-19), there may be a delay in prizes being dispatched or delay in contacting winners due to the availability of such prizes. The Promoter accepts no liability for the delay of prizes being received and is unable to compensate for delays or any other unavoidable issues.

 

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