At a Glance
- Kenan Thompson’s debut children’s book Unfunny Bunny releases January 13
- The picture book contains 30 kid-friendly jokes meant to be read aloud
- Thompson envisions it as a “multi-player experience” for families
- Why it matters: Encourages screen-free, interactive reading time between parents and kids
Saturday Night Live veteran Kenan Thompson is adding “children’s author” to his résumé with Unfunny Bunny, a picture book hitting shelves January 13 from Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
The story follows Bunny on his first day of school, where his dream of being the class clown backfires-his jokes land with a thud. The publisher describes the book as “a laugh-out-loud tale about unexpected friendship and pursuing your dreams.” Inside, readers find 30 intentionally groan-worthy jokes designed for kids to share.
“I’m a big gather around the old TV moment kinda dude, so I was hoping like it’d be like a full family kind of experience,” Thompson told News Of Losangeles. “It would be so nice if they could, like, share it with someone else to bounce the jokes off. So hopefully it’s a multi-player experience.”
Collaboration Behind the Scenes
Thompson co-wrote the book with longtime SNL writer Bryan Tucker. Illustrator Tony Neal provided the artwork. The comedian compared the process to sketch comedy-only slower.
“It takes me a while to write a joke,” Thompson admitted, laughing. “If you ever spend any time around standup [comedians], you’ll notice that they kinda talk in kind of material, whether it’s working out jokes that they’ve just told to four other people and they’re still telling it to see if it works, or they’re fishing for something new in the moment.”
He prefers acting, where he can “conversate” without constantly testing punchlines. Still, he knows jokes need an audience.
“You gotta bounce things off of people, you know? You don’t really know if a joke’s gonna work until you read it out loud.”
Kid-Tested, Playground-Approved
Thompson has already test-read Unfunny Bunny to elementary and middle-schoolers. The verdict: thumbs-up. While the target age is 3-6, he believes humor transcends grade levels.
“I feel like jokes are kind of universal,” he said. He hopes kids retell the jokes on playgrounds, at dinner tables, or “anywhere someone needs a giggle.”
Future Chapters
If the book finds its audience, Thompson is open to more.
“I would love for Unfunny Bunny to have its own life and turn into a bunch of books, but I would love to jump into another topic that works as well,” he said.
Creating, he added, is non-negotiable: “I feel like if I won the lotto, I would still kinda work doing something, like Forrest Gump cutting grass. I would have to do something. It’s nice to contribute to society.”
Unfunny Bunny is available wherever books are sold.
