Stephen Mangan to bring dad jokes to Hay Festival

Stephen Mangan says one of the best things about performing at the festival is getting feedback from his young readers

It's possibly no surprise that when a comedian writes a children's book that there are jokes.

But in Stephen Mangan's latest book, illustrated by his sister Anita, not only are the pages packed with them, jokes are the essence of the story too.

Stephen says: "The Day I Fell Down the Toilet is a funny adventure story about a boy who has to save jokes because the queen of the land, where jokes are written, has decided they are not very funny any more.

"What I loved about writing this book was the chance to explore all those different jokes - puns, limericks, and dad jokes, of course.

"Shout out to all the dads out there who are fighting the good fight with dad jokes."

He added: "I loved reading as a kid but I also love reading books of jokes, just endless books of jokes, so it was a way for me to explore all the different types of comedy and to just pack a book full of jokes in a very funny, silly adventure story."

So does he have any favourite jokes that made it into the book?

"Yes. I enjoyed, I met a man who invented the windowsill. He's a ledge...

"Dad, did you get a hair cut? No, I got them all cut."

The 11-day festival, which attracts about 300,000 people each year, begins on 23 May

The brother-sister duo are performing at this year's Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, which attracts about 300,000 people each year.

Other stars include Dame Judi Dench, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Bonnie Tyler and Charlotte Church.

Stephen says one of the best things about performing at the festival, which begins on 23 May, is getting feedback from his young readers.

"It's lovely to meet them and at the signing afterwards, hearing which bits of the book they liked, which they enjoyed, it's the only feedback we get from an audience so it's a real treat."

Anita, who illustrates her brother's books, will be encouraging children to get out their pencils and sketchpads at their event.

"We love Hay," says Anita.

"It's such fun, great audiences, we make our audience scream in the show..."

"With laughter," her brother qualifies.

"It's not some kind of horror show!"

• Listen to Lucy Owen's interview with Stephen and Anita Mangan on BBC Sounds